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THE LIFE 


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BISHOP OF ST. AGATHA OF THE GOTHS, 

And Founder of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. 


COMPILED FROM THE PUBLISHED MEMOIRS OF THE SAINT, 

BY ONE OF THE REDEMPTORIST FATHERS. 




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BALTIMORE: 

PUBLISHED BY JOHN MURPHY & CO. 

No. 17S MARKET STREET. 

LONDON....C. DOLMAN, 61 NEW BOND STREET. 
PITTSBUR G....G EORGE QUIGLEY. 

Sold by Catholic Booksellers generally. 

1855 . 







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SXujoo 

"733 


Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1854, by 
JOHN MURPHY & COMPANY, 
in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of Maryland. 


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PREFACE. 


The compiler long since noticed with regret, that 
there was no Life of St. Alphonsus published in the 
English language, which adequately set forth the merits 
of that illustrious Saint, and displayed his many claims 
to our admiration and respect. In order to supply this 
deficiency, he undertook, more than ten years ago, a 
translation of the Life of the Saint from the Italian; but 
various circumstances occurred to retard its completion. 
In the meanwhile, he learned with pleasure that such a 
publication was announced in England, in the series of 
the Lives of the Saints edited by the fathers of the Ora¬ 
tory; but this work, when it came to hand, though it 
left nothing to be desired in point of fulness of illustra¬ 
tion, did not seem fully adapted to meet the object he 
had proposed to himself, as its length was so great as to 
prove an obstacle to its general circulation. As soon, 
therefore, as his occupations permitted, he resumed his 
undertaking; but thinking that a compilation from the 
English Life would answer his purpose better than the 
proposed translation, he was induced to change his origi¬ 
nal plan, and to prepare for publication the work which 
is now presented. While, however, he has attempted 
nothing beyond a mere compilation, care has been taken 
to unite completeness with brevity, and he believes that 


VI 


PREFACE. 


\ 


the portrait of St. Alphonsus which is given in the fol¬ 
lowing pages, could not have been rendered more perfect 
and true otherwise than by the entire reproduction of the 
voluminous memoirs already published. 

There is no occasion to enlarge here upon the merits 
•of the Saint. During a life-time of ninety years, labo¬ 
riously occupied in the service of God and in the salva¬ 
tion of souls, he exhibited continually such splendid 
examples of every virtue, that the mere narration of them 
will he at once his best panegyric, and the most per¬ 
suasive exhortation to the imitation of his holiness. 

Impart then, O Lord, thy benediction to this work, 
and do thou take it under thy protection, O Blessed 
among women; that the heroic actions and labors which 
it records may, in their recital, repeat the result which 
was the effect and aim of their first achievement, by 
bringing new honor and glory to the holy names of 
Jesus and Mary. 


Baltimore, JVou. 1st , 1854. 




CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

Birth and Childhood of Alphonsus,.13 

CHAPTER II. 

Alphonsus applies to Studies,.17 

CHAPTER Ill. 

Alphonsus follows the Profession of the Law—his Father’s 

project of marrying him,.20 

CHAPTER IV. 

Alphonsus retires from the Bar, and resolves to quit the 
world, ..29 

CHAPTER V. 

Alphonsus enters the Ecclesiastical State, ... 35 

CHAPTER VI. 

Alphonsus is ordained Deacon and Priest. His first Labors, 

Zeal, and Success in the pulpit and the confessional, . 38 

CHAPTER VII. 

Alphonsus establishes public Meetings for the advancement 
of his penitents, and the instruction of poor people ia 
general, . ... 45 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Alphonsus retires into the Chinese College, and gives mis¬ 
sions in the country,.50 




VIII 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER IX. 

Alphonsus is called to found a Congregation of Missionary- 
Priests, . 


PAGE 

56 


CHAPTER X. 

Alphonsus establishes his Congregation at Scala. It under¬ 
goes a severe trial,.68 


CHAPTER XI. 

Alphonsus gives Missions and founds the Houses at the 
Villa del Schiavi and at Ciorani. He abandons the for¬ 
mer, .77 


CHAPTER XII. 

Apostolic Courses of Alphonsus. He abandons Scala. 
Missions in various places and Dioceses, especially in 
that of Naples,.89 


CHAPTER XIII 

Alphonsus, with his companions, makes the three Religious 
Vows. He founds the House of Nocera. The opposi¬ 
tion he encounters,.97 


CHAPTER XIV. 

Alphonsus founds the Houses of Iliceto and Caposele, and 
establishes a Novitiate. His first Publications. He seeks 
to have his Congregation approved by the King, . . 112 

CHAPTER XV. 

Alphonsus obtains the approbation of his Congregation 
at Rome. He holds the first General Chapter, and is 
elected Rector Major. Difficulties with some subjects. 

Other difficulties in Naples. He publishes his Moral 
Theology, 


134 





CONTENTS. IX 

CHAPTER XVI. 

PAGE 

Alphonsus founds a house in the Pontifical States. Vari¬ 
ous apostolical courses and labors. He founds a house 


in Sicily,.157 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Alphonsus’ Maxims and Conduct in his quality of Founder 
and Superior of a Religious Order, .... 175 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Alphonsus is chosen Bishop. His journey to Rome and 

Loretto. His Consecration,.194 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Alphonsus leaves Rome and goes to his diocese. His man¬ 


ner of life as a bishop. He gives the Spiritual Exercises 
to the Clergy, and a Mission in his Cathedral. Some 
examples of his severity against hardened sinners, . 208 

CHAPTER XX. 

Alphonsus commences his Episcopal Visitation. He re¬ 
forms and regulates the Diocesan Seminary. His zeal, 
prudence and manner of life during the visitation of the 
diocese,.225 

CHAPTER XXI. 

His Conduct at his Brother’s second Marriage. His Zeal 
for the Preaching of the Word of God by himself and 
others. His Charity during a Famine, . . . 243 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Alphonsus presides at a general Chapter of his Congrega¬ 
tion. He defends his Moral Theology. He publishes 
Ordinances for the Regulation of his Diocese. He es¬ 
tablishes new Parishes. Becomes dangerously ill. He 
publishes his book on the Truth of the Faith. Circular 
to his Congregation,.561 




X 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER XXIII. 

PAGE 

Alphonsus seeks to resign the Episcopate. He establishes 
at St. Agatha a Convent of Nuns. His great solicitude 
in conferring Holy Orders, in giving Jurisdiction to Con¬ 
fessors, and in choosing subjects for Parishes and Bene¬ 
fices, .276 

CHAPTER XXIY. 

Alphonsus’ solicitude for the Sanctification of Religious. 

His zeal for the material Churches. The Congregation 
of Alphonsus is persecuted. He publishes two new 
works. He goes to Naples for the defence of his Con¬ 
gregation. How he exercises his zeal at Naples, . . 299 

CHAPTER XXV. 

Alphonsus is visited by sickness and great sufferings. He 
finishes his work on Dogmatics. His Congregation is 
persecuted in Sicily. His mode of life and apostolic 
labors when paralytic. Interest he takes in the education 
of his nephews. Circular to his Congregation. His 
Missionaries abandon Sicily,.327 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

Alphonsus seeks to resign. He publishes several Works. 

His Congregation is established in the States of the 
Church. He publishes still other Works. He assists 
at the death of Pope Clement XIV. His sentiments on 
the Election of a new Pope. His Missionaries return to 
Sicily,.359 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

Alphonsus’ zeal during his Episcopate in reforming his 
secular and regular Clergy—in removing scandals in 
general, and preventing sin in all classes of the Laity. 

How God assists him in his efforts, . . . 378 





CONTENTS. 


XI 


CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Alphonsus’ patience in bearing injuries, and great meek¬ 
ness. His admirable humility. His spirit of poverty, 
penance, and mortification,.397 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

Alphonsus’ charity in relieving all kinds of bodily suffering. 

His detachment from all self-interest, . . . . 417 

CHAPTER XXX. 

Alphonsus resigns the Episcopate. He leaves his Diocese, 
and returns to Nocera. His manner of life in his retire¬ 
ment, .441 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

The Congregation is bitterly persecuted at Naples. Al¬ 
phonsus labors in its defence. His anxieties in regard to 
the houses in the Pontifical States, .... 458 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

Alphonsus exerts himself incessantly for the welfare of the 
Church at large, and for the general promotion of piety. 

His efforts to maintain discipline in the Congregation, . 472 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

The Congregation, through the treachery and intrigue of 
some of its members, is threatened with complete disor¬ 
ganization. Alphonsus exhibits through all these trials 
entire submission to the will of God, . . . .487 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

Unavailing efforts of Alphonsus to bring about a re-union 
between the houses of the Pontifical States and those ol 
the Kingdom. Signs of Alphonsus’ approaching disso¬ 
lution. His zeal for the salvation of souls continues un¬ 
abated, .507 



XII 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER XXXV. 

PAGE 

Alphonsus suffers great interior trials. The favors and 
graces by which God attested his sanctity, . . . 526 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 

Alphonsus’ last illness and Death,. 548 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 

The Ceremonies of the Interment. Many Miracles are 
wrought through the intercession of Alphonsus. The 
process of his Canonization,.561 

Bull of the Canonization of St. Alphonsus, . . 580 


♦ 



CHAPTER I. 

Birth and Childhood of Alphonsus. 

I N all ages of the world, the Almighty has raised up 
extraordinary men to supply the wants of humanity; 
and, incessantly watching over the welfare of his Church, 
he has, in every succeeding century, provided chosen 
vessels to defend and edify it. In the eighteenth cen¬ 
tury, impiety and overstrained rigidity had united to under¬ 
mine the edifice of the Church. A servile fear had expelled 
the charity of God; the sacraments, those fountains of 
life, were abandoned, or turned into derision ; the divine 
Eucharist, the life-spring of Catholic piety, had become 
an object of dread; and the spirit of Christianity seemed 
passing away. But the eye of an omniscient Providence 
watched over it: to confound impiety, to fight against 
Jansenism, to awaken faith, and kindle love, in its source, 
the Sacrament of the altar, God gave to his Church and 
to the world, a man after his own heart, Alphonsus Liguori. 

Joseph de Liguori, of an ancient patrician family in 
Naples, and Anne Catherine Cavalieri, of an equally noble 
family from Brindes, were the happy parents of Alphonsus. 
Illustrious by his birth, as also by his military talents, and 
the public offices which he filled with integrity and pru¬ 
dence, D. Joseph was, moreover, a man of exemplary 
piety, and by his devotion to the passion of our Lord he 
obtained many signal graces. His wife was a woman of 
2 




14 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


singular virtue, and descended from parents equally remark¬ 
able for their piety and their rank. Devoted to prayer, 
loving the poor, she practised self-denial and mortifica¬ 
tion, abstained from worldly amusements, and was to be 
found most frequently in the house of God. 

Alphonsus was born on the 27th of September, 1696, in 
the vicinity of Naples, at Marianella, where his parents 
had a country-house, and two days after, he was baptized 
in the Church of St. Mary of Virgins in Naples. He re¬ 
ceived the following names: “Alphonsus Mary Anthony 
John Francis Cosmas Damian Michel-Angelothe first of 
which were given him in memory of his ancestors, the 
others in honor of the Saints on whose respective days he 
was born and baptized. From the hour of his birth, he 
was placed in a special manner under the protection of 
the Blessed Virgin, that in all his necessities he might find 
in her an advocate and mother. Shortly after his birth, St. 
Francis Jerome, of the Society of Jesus, foreseeing with a 
prophetic eye how dear to God, and how useful to his 
Church, the infant would become, foretold his future 
sanctity. He took him from the arms of his mother, and 
blessing him, said : “ This little child will live to a great 
age, even until ninety years; he will be a bishop, and will 
perform great things for Jesus Christ.” Alphonsus was 
henceforth regarded as a special gift from heaven, destined 
to procure the salvation of souls and promote the glory of 
Jesus Christ. 

Contrary to the usual custom among the nobles, the early 
education of Alphonsus was not confided to strangers; his 
mother superintended it herself, and instructed her son in 
the knowledge of religion. The brother of Alphonsus, D. 
Gaetan, related that every morning after having blessed her 
children, she made them pray to God, and every evening 
she assembled them around her, and taught them the ele¬ 
ments of the Christian faith, reciting with them the Rosary 
and other prayers in honor of different Saints. She was 
careful in preventing them from associating with other 
children of their age; she wished that grace should antici- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


15 


pate in them the malice of sin, and that they might early 
be taught to hate it; she therefore took them every week 
to confess to her own director, F. Thomas Pagano, of the 
Oratory of St. Jerome. It was thus she guided her dear 
Alphonsus, and made him truly holy. Above all, she en¬ 
deavored to kindle in his heart a tender love for Jesus 
Christ, and a filial confidence in Mary. He was born with 
a heart so ready to receive the impressions of grace, that 
piety and love of virtue seemed natural to him. One 
might say, that in him virtue anticipated age, so early did 
he show maturity in his devotions. 

Even in childhood, he knew not the ordinary amuse¬ 
ments of infancy, but placed all his delight in erecting 
little altars, and celebrating in his childish manner the 
feasts of different Saints. When he was more advanced 
in age, and had tasted in the practice of piety the sweets 
of celestial communication, he might be seen continually 
presenting himself before God, and pouring out his heart 
in holy affections before him. Thus he so early began to 
receive those precious graces which God bestows on souls 
destined to the highest degrees of sanctity. 

At this time, the Fathers of St. Jerome directed a fer¬ 
vent Congregation, having for its object the spiritual wel¬ 
fare of the young nobility. The parents of Alphonsus 
placed him under their care, when he was only nine years 
old, and his exemplary conduct and great piety were 
the admiration of these good Fathers. He came early 
every Sunday morning to the Congregation, and although 
so young, he was docile and submissive to the slightest 
command of the Superiors, attentive and recollected dur¬ 
ing the devotional exercises, full of a holy avidity for the 
general instructions, and even over-anxious in his desire to 
profit by them. He regularly confessed to F. Pagano, 
and when arrived at the proper age, received holy com¬ 
munion from his hands. It was then an edifying spectacle 
to see this young child on his knees, hearing mass with 
singular devotion, and approaching the holy table with the 
greatest fervor. He prepared himself always by the aid of 


16 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


little books of piety, which he devoutly held in his hands, 
and never retired without kneeling long to make acts of 
thanksgiving. 

As Alphonsus advanced in age, his mother redoubled 
her solicitude: not content with all he learned under these 
excellent fathers, she took care to instruct him herself in 
the manner of performing his devotions, and acquitting 
himself of his other duties. She spoke to him of the 
enormity of sin, of hell which it merits, and of the great 
displeasure the slightest fault gives to the heart of Jesus 
Christ. What was most admirable in him, was his con¬ 
stancy in his devotional exercises. When the hour arrived 
for his joining his mother in some devout practice, he pre¬ 
sented himself before her, nor was he less punctual in 
other pious exercises, which he imposed upon himself. 

When he had attained his twelfth year, his prayer was 
not only more than ordinary, it was sublime; as is proved 
by the following very remarkable occurrence, related by an 
eye-witness. The Fathers of St. Jerome were in the habit 
of taking the young gentlemen of their congregation, every 
Sunday after vespers, to some country-house for recrea¬ 
tion. On one of these occasions, the young people began 
to amuse themselves with a game called the game of 
oranges. Alphonsus was asked to join, but excused him¬ 
self on the plea of not knowing the game: his com¬ 
panions, however, urged him so much, that at length he 
consented. Fortune favored him, and he gained thirty 
times running. This success made his companions jeal¬ 
ous, and one, older than he, exclaimed in a rage : “It was 
you who did not know the game, was it!” adding in his 
anger a very indecent expression. Alphonsus reddened, 
when he heard it, and with an air of severity turned 
towards his companions and said: “ How is this, shall 
God be offended for the sake of a little miserable money? 
Take back your money !” and throwing on the ground 
what he had won, he turned his back on them with a holy 
indignation. When evening came, and the young people 
were to return, he was nowhere to be found. They called 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


17 


him, but they called in vain, and every one went to seek 
him. But what was their surprise, when they discovered 
him on his knees, before a picture of the Blessed Virgin 
which he had with him, and had placed upon a laurel 
branch. He was quite absorbed, and so ravished in God, 
that it was some time before he came to himself, notwith¬ 
standing the noise his companions made. 

To the latest period of his life, Alphonsus continued to 
acknowledge his obligations to his mother, for the great 
care she had taken of him during his childhood. “ If I 
must admit,” he was wont to say, “ that there was any 
thing good in me, as a child, and that I was kept from 
wickedness, I owe it entirely to the tender solicitude of 
my mother.” He once said : “ At the death of my father, 
I refused to go to Naples, offering to God the sacrifice of a 
duty, which nature claimed from me; but when my mother 
is dying, if I am not otherwise prevented, I shall not have 
the courage to refuse going to assist her.” 


CHAPTER II. 

Alphonsus applies to Studies. 

D JOSEPH and D. Anna, fearing that in a college 
• the innocence of their son might run come danger, 
and that intercourse with other young men might tarnish 
its lustre, would have him continually under their own 
eyes, sheltered from every occasion of sin, and pro¬ 
cured him excellent private masters to teach him belles- 
lettres. His grammar master was the learned Dominic 
Buonaccio, a native of Calabria, and a man of piety and 
irreproachable morals. His master found little difficulty 
in conducting his education : his naturally happy disposi¬ 
tion and inclination for virtue, much abridged the lessons 
of this good priest, as well in reference to science, as to 
spiritual matters. His mind was quick and penetrating, 
2 * 


18 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


his memory faithful and retentive, and he combined great 
docility with an ardent desire for instruction. With these 
excellent qualities, he made rapid progress in his studies, 
and gave great satisfaction both to master and parents. 

As the father and mother of Alphonsus wished not only 
to make their son a man of letters and a good Christian, 
but also an accomplished gentleman, they took care to 
adorn his mind with every other species of knowledge 
necessary to form a distinguished education. He was yet 
a child, when they gave him masters in drawing, painting, 
and architecture. He succeeded admirably in all these 
arts: even in his old age he sketched pictures, sometimes 
of the infant Jesus, or of the blessed Virgin; and had en¬ 
graved several of them for the use of his congregation. 
His father, who was exceedingly fond of music, wished 
him also to excel in that art, and gave orders that he 
should apply himself three hours daily to the study of 
it with a master. Thus before Alphonsus had attained 
his twelfth year, he touched the harpsichord with great 
skill. In his later years he regretted the time he had 
spent in acquiring this accomplishment. “ Fool that I 
have been,” said he one day, looking at the harpsichord, 
“to have lost so much time on that; but it was right to 
obey my father, he would have it so.” He excelled so 
much both in music and poetry, that even in his old age 
he wrote and composed wonderfully well. This his talent 
is apparent in the numerous hymns he composed, among 
which are many that force us to recognise in them the 
# hand of a master. D. Joseph, ambitious of seeing his son 
-distinguish himself in the magistracy, by the talents with 
which he was adorned, wished him, when his philosophy 
and other studies were finished, to apply himself to civil 
and canonical lavv. He gave him two learned masters, 
who enjoyed great reputation in Naples. Alphonsus was 
not less successful in this new career. 

Among these numerous occupations, all the recreation 
he permitted himself to take, was with D. Charles Cito, at 
whose house he passed an hour in the evening, to play at 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


19 


cards with other young people of irreproachable character, 
who visited there. The favorite games of the young gen¬ 
tlemen were tersillio, ombre, and such like, then usual in 
good society, in which the mind found recreation and ex¬ 
ercise, while the morals received no damage. These 
amusements had very strict bounds, D. Joseph wishing 
that they might be rather a means of advancing, than re¬ 
tarding, him in his studies, and that the short relaxation 
might enable him to resume them again with renewed 
vigor. He was always displeased, when his son stayed 
beyond the appointed time; for it sometimes happened 
that Alphonsus was rather late. On one of these occa¬ 
sions, wishing to mortify him, he removed all his books 
from his table, and substituted for them packs of cards. 
Alphonsus felt this mortification most sensibly, and nothing 
else was necessary to make him blush, and strive more 
punctually than ever, to obey his father’s injunctions. In 
his old age he mentioned, that at the same time he had 
been very fond of hunting, but had never indulged in it, 
except on days when he was dispensed from study, adding, 
that the birds were fortunate that had to do with him, for, 
notwithstanding all his endeavors, he rarely killed one. 
Such were the useful and interesting occupations of the 
young Alphonsus; and we believe his parents were wise 
enough to interdict other accomplishments usually taught, 
and regarded by worldly persons as indispensable. They 
looked upon dancing as an amusement perilous for the 
soul, and. on fencing, as exposing both soul and body to 
many dangers. 

Alphonsus devoted himself so successfully to the study 
of jurisprudence, that before his sixteenth year he was 
master of it. He received his degree on the twenty-first 
of January, 1713, amidst general applause, having pre¬ 
viously obtained a dispensation of three years and nine 
months, being little more than sixteen years old. He 
might from that time be seen constantly before the tribu¬ 
nals of Naples, listening with an ardent avidity for instruc¬ 
tion to the numerous decisions of the counsels, so much 


29 


LIFE OP ST. ALTHONStTS. 


respected in that town. At first his father placed him 
with Peronne, a celebrated advocate, after whose death he 
was .placed with another jurisconsult not less esteemed, 
called Jovene. It was about this period that he began to 
deny himself all kinds of amusement, and even to renounce 
the agreeable society in the house of D. Cito. He asso¬ 
ciated only with the president, Dominic Caravita, a man as 
pious as he was learned, and inferior to none in the science 
of civil and canon law. His house was then a kind of 
academy for studious young men, where the most virtu¬ 
ous and learned in legal matters used to meet. The 
president did all in his power to render them skilful in dis¬ 
cussing points of law, and in the choice of proper words. 
Every evening he held conferences, in which they treated 
the most difficult questions, while the president adopted or 
rejected their conclusions. 


CHAPTER III. 

Alphonsus follows Vie Profession of Law—His Father’s 
project of marrying him. 

A LPHONSUS had not yet attained his twentieth year, 
when he saw himself surrounded by numerous clients, 
and seated before the tribunals, side by side with the most 
distinguished advocates. His father’s family, at that time, 
had many friends and relations among the principal sena¬ 
tors. These men of quality, knowing the talents and good 
conduct of Alphonsus, and his desire of advancement, 
united all their endeavors to procure him distinguished 
clients, and he himself knew so well how to gain public 
esteem, that in a short time the most important causes 
were confided to him. The rules by which he regulated 
his conduct as a lawyer, cannot be too generally known; 
for if they were imitated, the whole face of society would 
be renovated. They were as follows* 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 21 

1. Never to accept unjust causes, as being pernicious 
to conscience, and hurtful to honor. 

2. Never to defend a cause by illicit and unjust means. 

3. Never to burden clients with superfluous expenses. 

4. To defend the causes of clients with the same care as 
one would his own. 

5. To study carefully the details of a process, in order to 
draw arguments from them that may effectually help the 
defence. 

6. To implore the assistance of God in orderto succeed, 
because he is the protector of justice. 

7. If the dilatoriness and negligence of a lawyer prove 
prejudicial to clients, he must reimburse the loss caused 
in this way, otherwise he sins against justice. 

8. A lawyer must not undertake causes which surpass 
his talents or his strength, or for which he foresees that he 
will not have leisure to prepare his defence. 

9. Justice and probity should be the characteristics of 
a lawyer, and he ought to preserve them as the apple of 
of his eye. 

10. A lawyer, who loses a cause by negligence, con¬ 
tracts the obligation of making up all the losses of his 
clients. 

11. In the defence of a cause it is necessary to be truth¬ 
ful, sincere, respectful, and reasonable. 

12. The qualities requisite for a lawyer, are knowledge, 
diligence, truth, fidelity and justice. 

Guided by such rules, it is not to be wondered at, that 
he gained an ascendancy over all hearts, and so enchanted 
his audience when he spoke, that not only the judges, but 
even his adversaries, often ranged themselves on his side. 
Such must ever be the ultimate effects of truth and honor. 

If Alphonsus desired to strike out a brilliant path for 
himself as a lawyer, he was no less anxious to increase in 
virtue and render himself dear to God. Two years after 
receiving the gown, he advanced from the Congregation of 
young nobles to that of doctors, established in the same 
house of the Fathers of the Oratory. Besides frequenting 


22 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


the Congregation, he often visited F. Pagano, his spiritual 
director, whom he regarded as his guardian angel. To him 
he exposed all his doubts and fears, and he never deviated 
from his counsels; and thus, far from relaxing in his piety 
and devotion, he daily made more and more progress. He 
frequented the sacraments, he visited the sick in the hos¬ 
pitals’and loved prayer, to which he joined the mortification 
of his passions and his senses. He never went to the law- 
courts, before he had heard Mass, and finished in the 
church his other devotional exercises* 

While Alphonsus gave himself to piety with so much 
assiduity, his father was at the same time anxious to con¬ 
firm him in these dispositions. He wished him annually 
to make with him the spiritual exercises in the house called 
Conocchia, kept for this purpose by the Jesuits, or in the 
house of the Missionaries of St. Vincent of Paul. Alphon¬ 
sus afterwards spoke of these retreats, as having made a 
great impression upon him, and of his having drawn from 
them the most salutary fruits. One of the most precious of 
these was an especial love for the holy virtue of purity. 
During the whole period of his youth, no one ever re¬ 
marked, in his conversations with young companions; a 
sign, or a word, that could indicate a shadow of impro¬ 
priety. Every thing about him proclaimed his modesty, 
by which he edified all around him. He was so jealous 
for the conservation of this virtue, so dear to the Son of 
God, that, as his brother D. Gaetan related, in order to 
prevent during his sleep even any involuntary movement 
contrary to it, he put his hands, when going to bed in the 
evening, into a kind of etui made of paste-board. After¬ 
wards, he used to sleep, holding a cross of wood in his 
arms, which he did to the end of his days. 

A life so exemplary could not fail to produce the most 
abundant fruits; and although all the good resulting from 
it in the edification of others, will only be known in heaven, 
yet it has pleased Providence., that one instance should be 
upon record-—the conversion of a slave in his father’s 
house. D. Joseph, as commander of the galleys, had sev- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


23 


eral slaves in his service; one of them was selected to 
wait upon Alphonsus. He soon after manifested an in¬ 
clination to become a Christian, and when asked what had 
made him think of such a thing, he replied : “ The example 
of my young master has made a great impression on me; 
for it is impossible that that religion can be false, which 
makes him lead a life so pure and holy.” F. Mastrilla, of 
the Congregation of St. Jerome, undertook to instruct 
him ; but soon after,, he became sick and was sent to the 
hospital. One evening he expressed a great desire to see 
F. Mastrilla immediately. Upon his arrival, he requested 
to be baptized, saying: “ I have seen our Lady, St. Joseph, 
and St. Joachim, and they have told me I must be baptized 
now, because they wish to have me in Paradise.” The 
priest replied that his illness was not dangerous, and besides, 
that he was not sufficiently instructed. “Let your rever¬ 
ence interrogate me,” replied the slave, “for I am prepared 
to answer all your questions.” In fact, he replied with the 
utmost precision and accuracy to every question. He was 
baptized, and then told to repose a little after the fatigue. 
“This is not a time to rest,” he said, “for I must go 
immediately to Paradise.” In about half an hour this 
poor slave, his countenance radiant w'ith joy, surrendered 
his pure soul into the hands of his Creator. 

Alphonsus was now approaching his twentieth year, and, 
seeing the progress he daily made in the career of the 
law, every one prognosticated, that with such distinguished 
talents, and such powerful family interests, he would soon 
attain the highest dignity in the magistracy. These rare 
prerogatives, enhanced by all the qualities that could be 
wished for in a young nobleman, and joined to irreproach¬ 
able conduct, made the first families in Naples anxious for 
him to form a matrimonial alliance with their daughters. 
Among all the parties who presented themselves, the choice 
of D. Joseph fell upon D. Theresa, a rich heiress, who was 
also nearly allied to the family, the only daughter of D. 
Francis de Liguori, Prince of Presiccio: he expected thereby 
to acquire for Alphonsus a considerable fortune. The 


24 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


prince regarded it as an honor for his daughter to become 
the wife of such a young man, and the affair was consid¬ 
ered as arranged. As for Alphonsus, he took no part in 
the matter, and showed not the least intention of marry¬ 
ing. While this affair was in progress, the mother of the 
princess, contrary to all expectation, became pregnant, 
and this incident changed immediately the designs of D. 
Joseph, who no longer found in the marriage the advan¬ 
tages he had originally contemplated for his house. His 
ardor cooled, and when she was brought to bed of a son, 
he withdrew himself entirely. At the end of a few months, 
the infant died, and the father of Alphonsus began again to 
frequent the house, and to speak of his original propo¬ 
sals. Although they felt themselves aggrieved, the prince 
and princess were willing to renew the negotiations; but 
Theresa would not listen to these new proposals. “When 
my brother was alive,” said she, “ I was not considered a 
suitable match fQr Alphonsus de Liguori; but now he is 
dead, they think it advisable—it is my fortune they seek, 
and not myself. I know enough of the world; and now 
I wish to have nothing more to do with it. I desire to 
take Jesus Christ for my spouse.” She entered into the 
convent of the Nuns of the Holy Sacrament, or of St. 
Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, and took the veil on the 
eighth of March, 1719. This rupture between Alphonsus 
and Theresa was an arrangement of Providence, to with¬ 
draw both of them from the dangers of the world. Theresa, 
from the moment she entered the convent, gave herself 
entirely to Jesus Christ, and spared no sacrifice in order to 
please Him. Her life was short, but full of merits, and she 
died in the odor of sanctity, the 30th of October, 1724. 
Soon after her death, Alphonsus, at the request of the 
Superior of the convent, wrote the edifying life of her, 
who had been intended for his wife. 

A circumstance occurred about this time which shows 
the perfect submission of Alphonsus to his father. One 
evening there was at the house a party of ladies and 
gentlemen, and it happened that one of the domestics 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


25 


showed stupidity in attending to the guests. D. Joseph 
scolded the servant, and reproached him with his inatten¬ 
tion: it was an involuntary fault, yet he did not cease to 
express his displeasure with him as he went and came. 
Alphonsus was sorry for the man, and said to his father: 
“ What a noise you make about it, my father: when once 
you begin, you can never end.” This speech displeased 
D. Joseph, who so far forgot himself, as to give his son a 
blow in the face. Alphonsus was confused, but said not a 
word, and, deeply humiliated, withdrew immediately to his 
room. The hour of supper came, and as he did not appear, 
his mother went to call him, but found him bathed in tears, 
deploring the want of respect he had shown towards his 
father. He confessed how wrongfully he had acted, and 
begged she would intercede for him, and obtain forgiveness. 
Accompanied by his mother, he went to his father, and 
asked him to forgive him. D. Joseph, affected by his sub¬ 
mission and repentance, embraced and blessed him; and if 
the fault of his son had wounded him, he was more touched 
and consoled by seeing him so sincerely humble. 

Alphonsus had never ceased to distinguish himself in the 
practice of virtue; nevertheless, he confessed in his old 
age, that, at this period of his life, his piety became cold,, 
and that he was in danger of losing his soul and his God. 
His father obliged him to accompany him into society; he 
frequented the theatres; and often, although always out of 
obedience, he took part in a private play. Added to these,, 
though innocent, yet dissipating, amusements, were the 
applauses he received on all sides, the proposals of mar¬ 
riage, the compliments which were showered upon him by 
ladies and their relations: in short, every thing flattered his 
passions, his heart was tainted, and he lost his first fervor. 
In this state of spiritual coldness, the slightest cause was 
sufficient to make him omit some one of his pious prac¬ 
tices : he has said himself, that if he had remained much 
longer in this dangerous position, he could not have 
avoided soon falling into some great sin. But the watchful 
eye of Providence failed not to send him timely aid, and. 
3 


•26 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


with a peculiar and paternal care, made him enter into 
himself. 

Alphonsus was on terms of the most intimate friendship 
with D. F. Cape-Celatro, Duke of Casabona, a young man 
of his own age. The young nobleman, alarmed at seeing 
his friend beginning to be negligent in the service of God, 
and wishing to rekindle his own fervor, proposed that he 
should join him in making a retreat during Lent, in the 
house of the Missionaries of St. Vincent of Paul. Alphon¬ 
sus, with his friend and some others, went there on the 
twenty-sixth of March, 1722. He was among those who 
profited most. Grace knocked at the door of his heart, 
making him feel how he had fallen from his first fervor: he 
saw, that, in following the world, he w r as pasturing on 
vanity, and that he was loving God but in an imperfect 
manner. The Divine Light penetrated his soul at a pro¬ 
pitious moment. He deplored his tepidity, and made a 
solemn promise to God to quit that mode of life, which he 
had so inconsiderately engaged in, and over which he 
lamented and wept. He always acknowledged, that this 
retreat had been for him one of the greatest blessings he 
had ever received from the Divine Majesty, and often said, 
that, under God, he owed it to his friend Cape-Celatro, that 
he had not been the slave of the world and a prey to his 
own passions. 

From the manner in which he sometimes spoke of this 
period of his life, we might be led, at the first glance, to 
imagine he had lost his innocence; but it was not so. The 
Saints always speak in exaggerated terms of their faults; 
and besides, we have the testimony of many who directed his 
conscience, that he had never committed a mortal sin. On 
one occasion, speaking of himself, he said; “ I have fre¬ 
quented the theatres; but thanks be to God, I never com¬ 
mitted even a venial sin there, for I went to hear the music, 
which absorbed all my attention, and hindered me from 
thinking of any other thing.” Even at this time, every one 
regarded him as a young man of pure and irreproachable 
manners; and one of his intimate friends, on being asked 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


27 


whether he had ever perceived any lightness in his conduct, 
replied, bowing his head respectfully: “No, he was always 
a most virtuous young man : I should blaspheme, if I said 
otherwise.” Among many other fruits which Alphonsus 
gathered from this retreat, was an especial and tender 
confidence in Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament. 
Besides approaching thenceforth the holy table several 
times a week, he w r ent every day to visit the Holy Sacra¬ 
ment in the Church where the forty hours’ adoration was 
made, and there he remained, not a few minutes, but for 
hours, in contemplation, edifying every one around him. 
He often purchased flowers to adorn the altar of his parish 
church; and preserved during his whole life this devotion 
for ornamenting altars, procuring the rarest seeds, and cul¬ 
tivating them himself to embellish the altars of the churches 
of his Congregation. This same practice he recommended 
to the Rectors of the houses, for he loved to see the altars 
ornamented with the finest flowers. The following year, 
in March, 1723, his father being in Naples, they withdrew 
together to the house of the same Missionaries to make an¬ 
other retreat. He received more graces, and was confirmed 
in his resolution of observing celibacy, which he had made 
during the last retreat, and of consecrating himself more 
than ever to God: he determined to yield his birth-right to 
his brother Hercules, although he had not yet decided 
to abandon the law. 

D. Joseph, ignorant of all this, projected another treaty 
of marriage with the daughter of Dominic del Balso, Duke 
of Presenzano, an amiable and noble lady, and, without 
consulting his son, he made proposals to the Prince, who 
at once agreed to them. This displeased Alphonsus; but 
fearing to offend his father, who he knew would be very 
indignant at his refusal, he frequented the house of Presen¬ 
zano, although very unwillingly; and he often said after¬ 
wards, that in the midst of amusements there, he felt as 
upon thorns, and thought only of the moment when his 
martyrdom would end. When D. Joseph saw the indiffer¬ 
ence of his son, he did all in his power to overcome it; 


•28 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


but Alphonsus excused himself by saying that weakness in 
his chest, and tendency to asthma, warned him not to think 
of marriage. His father attributed all these excuses to 
bashfulness, and continued to take him often with him to 
the house of the Duke; and, not to displease his father, 
Alphonsus accompanied him thither, but occupied himself 
with anything but striving to please the lady, taking part 
in the conversation with so much modesty and reserve, that 
no one could suspect what was passing between the fami¬ 
lies. On every occasion he behaved with the greatest cir¬ 
cumspection. It happened one evening at the Duke’s 
house, that he was invited to play the harpsichord: he 
willingly consented, when the young lady proposed to 
accompany him in a song: she rose and stood near him, 
turning her face towards him. Alphonsus immediately 
turned his head to the other side, and she, thinking it acci¬ 
dental, moved round : no sooner had she done so, than he 
again turned from her. The young Princess, perceiving the 
truth, was offended, thinking his indifference proceeded 
from contempt; and turning to the company, she said: 
“ It would seem the young gentleman has suddenly become 
moon-struck;” and so saying, she withdrew. Alphonsus was 
much mortified, but the others were edified by his admirable 
modesty. Yet D. Joseph did all he could to hasten the 
marriage, while Alphonsus continued to excuse himself on 
the plea of bad health. Seeing at length that his excuses 
were unavailing, he opened his mind to his mother, beg- 
ing her to persuade his father to cease his importunities. 
D. Anna was vexed at her son’s determination, and tried 
to persuade him of the advantages he would derive from 
his father’s arrangements, and the displeasure his refusal 
would cause him. But he expressed his resolution to 
throw all possible difficulties in the way of his father’s 
negotiating any marriage for him. At last the young lady 
herself, seeing his coldness, declared her unwillingness to 
marry a young man who would hardly look at her. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


29 


CHAPTER IV. 

Alphonsus retiresfrom the Bar , and resolves to quit the world. 

1 THINGS were in this state, when God, who had other 
. designs for Alphonsus, changed the aspect of affairs, and 
demolished at one blow all the worldly hopes of D. Joseph 
for his son. The tribunals of Naples were at this time 
occupied with a feudal process of great importance be¬ 
tween the Grand Duke of Tuscany and one of the most 
powerful nobles of the realm: about six hundred thousand 
ducats depended on the decision. Alphonsus undertook 
the cause of the nobleman, and after an entire month 
passed in the most careful study of the case, he believed 
he had discovered facts so evident, and reasons so strong, 
that they could not fail to gain a decision in favor of his 
client. Notwithstanding he had carefully examined over 
and over the details of the process, he was completely 
mistaken regarding the sense of one document, which 
constituted the right of the adverse party. The advocate 
of the Grand Duke perceived the mistake, but he allowed 
Alphonsus to continue his eloquent address to the end; 
as soon, however, as he had finished, he rose, and said 
with cutting coolness: “Sir, the case is not exactly what 
you suppose it to be: if you will examine this paper atten¬ 
tively, you will find there precisely the contrary of all you 
have advanced.” “Willingly,” replied Alphonsus; “the 
decision depends on this question”—whether the fief were 
granted under the law of Lombardy, or under the French 
law. The paper being examined, it was found that the Grand 
Duke’s advocate was in the right. “ Yes,” said Alphonsus, 
holding the paper in his hand, “ I am wrong, I have been 
mistaken.” A discovery so unexpected, and the fear of 
being accused of unfair dealing, filled him with consterna¬ 
tion, and covered him with confusion, so much so, that 
every one saw his emotion. It was in vain that the Presi¬ 
dent Caravita, who loved him, and knew his integrity, 
3 * 


30 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


tried to console him. Alphonsus would listen to nothing, 
but, overwhelmed with confusion, his head sunk on his 
breasl, he said to himself: “World, I know thee now: 
courts of law, never shall you see me again.” He with¬ 
drew to his own house, incessantly repeating to himself: 
“ World, I know thee nowand shut himself up in his 
chamber. His father was absent, and his mother did not 
notice his distress. When the dinner hour came, they 
called him in vain; they knocked at his door; he said he 
would eat nothing; they insisted, but he would not reply. 
The hour of supper passed in the same manner. Next 
day, when D. Joseph returned, his wife recounted to him 
her vexation; he immediately went to his soiTs room, but 
was refused admittance. It was not until the third day, 
that, overcome by his mother’s tears, he consented to open 
his door. They pressed him to eat, and with difficulty 
persuaded him to take a slice of melon, which, as he after- 
lerwards declared, seemed to him more bitter than gall. 

When rest had calmed his spirit, he took leave of his 
clients,* renounced his intimacies, and lived in the house 
of his father the life of a hermit. Grace daily gained more 
empire over his soul, and his greatest pleasure was to spend 
his days partly in the Church and partly in the Hospital of 
the Incurables, or if he did remain at home, it was to medi¬ 
tate on the lives of the Saints, to converse with God, and 
to read books of devotion. These occupations daily gave 
a new charm to his soul; but it was, above all, in the pre¬ 
sence of his Divine Saviour, in the churches where they 
made the forty hours’ adoration, that he enjoyed a foretaste 

*This accident, however, was not precisely the cause of his leaving 
the bar; it was rather the occasion of his doing so at this time. For, on 
several occasions, he had spoken to his friends in such a manner, that 
it was evident he had already resolved to quit the profession on account 
of its difficulties and dangers. He said one day to D. Joseph Cape- 
■Celatro: “My friend, our profession is too full of difficulties and dan¬ 
gers; we lead an unhappy life and run risk of dying an unhappy death. 
For myself, I will quit this career, which does not suit me; for I wish 
to secure the salvation of my soul.” 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 31 

of Paradise, and often he was so absorbed as to be uncon¬ 
scious of all around. 

This behaviour of Alphonsus was for D. Joseph a subject 
of the greatest affliction: he imagined his son was out of 
his mind and had become good for nothing. “What pro¬ 
ject can he be meditating?” said he to his wife; and D. 
Anna, sharing his uneasiness, could throw no light on the 
subject. A few days after the events we have related, D. 
Joseph brought to his son a process, which interested the 
family, desiring him to examine it the next day. “Give it 
to some other person,” replied Alphonsus; “the tribunal 
is no longer a place for me; henceforward I will occupy 
myself only with the salvation of my soul.” This reply, 
which D. Joseph hardly expected, fell on him like a thun¬ 
derbolt, and he burst into tears. His wife tried to console 
him, and to persuade him, that after the crisis should be 
past, their son would return to his former occupation; but 
he would not believe it; “No,” he said, “Alphonsus is too 
obstinate, he will not change his resolution.” 

God, who wished to withdraw him entirely from the 
world, and take complete possession of his heart, prepared 
another trial for him. It was on the 28th day of August, a 
day ever memorable in the annals of Alphonsus, that the 
birth-day of the Empress Isabella, the wife of Charles VI, 
was celebrated. There was a grand fete at the court, and 
D. Joseph wished to assist at the ceremony of kissing hands, 
and ordered his son to prepare to accompany him. He 
coldly excused himself; but his father continuing to insist, 
he replied shortly: “What would you have me do there?— 
all that is vanity.” Irritated by this answer, D. Joseph 
said in a transport of rage: “Do what you will, and go 
where you will!” Alphonsus, seeing his refusal had pro¬ 
voked his father, felt some scruple, and replied: “Do not 
be annoyed, my father, I am ready to go with you.” D. 
Joseph, however, was too angry to listen to him, and only 
continued to repeat: “Go where you will, do what you 
will!” and turning his back, he left the room, and stepping 
into his carriage, drove straight to his country-house, over- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


n 

whelmed with chagrin. Alphonsus, greatly distressed at 
witnessing the vexation of his father, exclaimed: “ My 
God, if I resist, I do wrong, if I consent, I do worse; I 
know not how to act!” In great affliction, he left the 
house, and went to the Hospital of the Incurables, in the 
hope of finding some consolation. Almost overpowered 
with his own sorrows, he was striving to assuage the mise¬ 
ries of others, of the poor and needy, when in a moment 
a light shone around him, the building seemed to be over¬ 
thrown, and he heard a loud voice saying to him: “Forsake 
lhe world, and give thyself entirely to Me.” Awed and as¬ 
tonished by what had occurred, he nevertheless continued 
assisting the sick; but when he was about leaving the hos¬ 
pital, and had reached the staircase, the house again seemed 
falling around him, and he heard the same voice, saying: 
“Forsake the world, and give thyself entirely to Me.” He 
stood still, and then, like another St. Paul, gave himself up 
to the divine call. Weeping, he exclaimed: “Lord, I have 
too long resisted thy grace; here I am, do with me what 
Thou pleasest.” He quitted the hospital, and proceeded 
to the church of the Redemption of Captives, dedicated to 
the Blessed Virgin, a favorite resort of his, because of a 
magnificent image of the Virgin which was there. He 
cast himself at the foot of the altar, imploring the assistance 
of his Divine Mother. Strengthened by her aid, he re¬ 
nounced the world, promised to give up his birth-right, and 
offered himself a perfect sacrifice to his Saviour and his 
Blessed Mother, solemnly engaging himself to enter into 
the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri; and 
drawing his sword, he laid it on the altar of our Lady of 
Mercy, as a pledge of his fidelity. He never ceased to call 
this day the day of his conversion, nor ever afterwards vis¬ 
ited Naples, without going to this church to return thanks 
to his divine benefactress. On the evening of this memo¬ 
rable day, Alphonsus went to his confessor, F. Pagano, and 
confided to him what had happened, declaring his resolu¬ 
tion immediately to join the Fathers of the Oratory. “ This 
is not a thing to be decided hastily,” said his director, “I 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


33 


must think it over during a year, before I give you a reply.” 
“A year!” cried Alphonsus, “I will not wait another day.” 
Pleased with his fervor, F. Pagano said they both should 
recommend the important affair to Jesus and Mary. 

For three days after these remarkable events, he tasted no 
food; he would do penance for not having sooner obeyed 
the call of grace. In the mean time his soul was filled to 
overflowing with the manna of heaven. His father, on re¬ 
turning from his country-house, having heard of his son’s 
refusal to eat, was extremely vexed, and again began to 
importune him on those points on which their views were so 
opposite. He urged him, with all a father’s tenderness, to 
resume his place at the bar, pointing out to him the loss his 
refusal would occasion to himself and the whole family; but 
when he saw he made no impression, he relapsed into an¬ 
ger. These scenes were repeated daily, and those only 
who have experienced them, can fully comprehend how 
they rend the heart; but Alphonsus continued firm: he 
daily saw his director, who, with the other fathers, advised 
him to proceed slowly, hoping for a favorable turn in his 
father’s sentiments. It happened one’day, that D.Joseph, 
very much provoked at the thought of his son’s splendid 
talents being lost in inaction, and at what he considered 
the inutility of his present mode of life, said to him in the 
bitterness of his heart: “Would to God that I were re¬ 
moved from this world, or that you were withdrawn from 
it; for I have no longer the courage to look at you!” The 
expression of such feelings quickened the resolution of 
Alphonsus. “Am I,” said he to himself, “an object of 
such horror to my father! Then God is my only friend; 
from henceforth I must be satisfied with him alone!” He 
then renewed his vows, offering himself without reserve as 
a living sacrifice to the Lord. He had not yet declared his 
intentions to his father, but summoning courage he said to 
him soon after: “My father, I see how much you grieve on 
my account, and yet, I must assure you I am no longer for 
the world. Inspired by God, I have formed the resolution 
of entering the Congregation of the Fathers of the Oratory; 


34 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


I beseech you not to be offended, but to give me your ben¬ 
ediction.” At these words, his father stood motionless with 
consternation, and then bursting into groans and lamenta¬ 
tions, he withdrew to his chamber, plunged in profound 
grief. The devil, finding himself vanquished by the resist¬ 
ance of Alphonsus to the storm, determined to undermine 
his resolution by the more dangerous temptations of the 
heart; and from this time his father employed the most 
tender entreaties, the tears, and the mediation of friends. 
He engaged on his side F. de Miro, who, supposing Al¬ 
phonsus was merely influenced by a melancholy humor, 
urged on him the propriety of employing his talents for the 
honor of his family, of considering the interest they pos¬ 
sessed with the Austrian Court, and the brilliant prospects 
of his brother, which would be so entirely overcast, if he 
persisted in his present plan: he finished by affirming it 
was no divine inspiration which guided him, but an illusion 
of the devil. Alphonsus remained firm, and when de Miro 
insisted, he replied: “Rev. Sir, be assured, I am convinced 
God calls me out of the world. He wishes me to embrace 
the ecclesiastical state: I ought, and I will, respond to the 
call of God, and not to the wishes of my father.” D. Jo¬ 
seph employed other friends to intercede with him, but his 
constant reply was: “God has called me, I cannot resist 
Him.” Mgr. Cavalieri, his uncle, being then in Naples, 
Alphonsus applied to him for protection and support. 
When his parents endeavored to engage this learned pre¬ 
late on their side of the question, he replied: “Have not I 
renounced the world and my right of primogeniture to se¬ 
cure my salvation? how, then, could I advise your son and 
my nephew to do the contrary, without risking his salvation 
and my own?” 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


35 


CHAPTER V. 

Jllphonsus enters the ecclesiastical State. 

I N the midst of these trials, Alphonsus had many defend¬ 
ers of his cause; his uncle the bishop, another uncle, 
the canon Peter Gizzio, and several ecclesiastics, who suc¬ 
ceeded at length in obtaining a reluctant consent from his 
father, that he should enter the Congregation of the Oratory. 
After this forced acquiescence, he could not avoid present¬ 
ing his son to the Archbishop of Naples, Cardinal Pigna- 
telli. His Eminence was struck by the resolution of Al¬ 
phonsus: “What,” said he, “it is your son who wishes to 
become a priest?” “It has pleased God it should be so,” 
replied his father, while the tears stood in his eyes; “it is 
but too true that he has taken this resolution.” Even after 
this decisive step, he continued to throw difficulties in the 
way. He would not supply him with money to furnish his 
ecclesiastical dress: Alphonsus, however, found means to 
get what was necessary, and suddenly appeared one day 
clad in ecclesiastical costume. At this sight, D. Joseph 
uttered a piercing cry, and threw himself on his bed, over¬ 
come with grief. For a whole year after this occurrence, 
he never once spoke to his son.- D. Anna recognised the 
will of God, and cheerfully submitted to it, doing all in her 
power to soften the feelings of her husband, and justify the 
conduct her son had pursued. The world in general con¬ 
demned him: the lawyers and senators who were formerly 
his friends, now' accused him of egregious folly; the presi¬ 
dent de Maio, in particular, passed him as a person un¬ 
worthy of notice. 

But if God generally tries by the loss of friends those 
whom he calls, he as surely recompenses the sacrifices 
made for him, a hundred fold. One of the first fruits of 
Alphonsus’ sacrifice, w as the friendship of the Rev. Joseph 
Porpora: this priest had often been edified by his devotion, 
when he saw' him prostrated for hours before the Blessed 


36 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


Sacrament, but without knowing him. At length he saw 
him in the ecclesiastical dress, and soon discovered who he 
was. He wished to make his acquaintance, but was re¬ 
strained by a feeling of human respect. One day, however, 
seeing him conversing with an intimate friend, the Rev. 
John Mazzini, he felt such an ardent desire to share his 
friendship, that he could no longer restrain himself, and, 
darting suddenly forward, exclaimed: “And I also, I wish 
to belong to you.” From that moment they seemed to 
have but one heart and one soul, every day they met to¬ 
gether before the Blessed Sacrament, and mutually excited 
each other to advance in the path of perfection. 

After Cardinal Pignatelli had given Alphonsus the eccle¬ 
siastical habit, he attached him to the parish of St. Angelo. 
He immediately went to offer his services to the curate of 
the church, and every day afterwards he might be seen 
serving at mass, and on feast-days assisting at every cere¬ 
mony. His devotion and modesty at length turned the tide 
of public opinion, and those who had proclaimed him a 
fool, now spoke loudly in praise of his generosity in sacri¬ 
ficing such brilliant prospects for the love of God. But 
that which excited the greatest admiration, was to see him 
on Sundays perambulating the parish, singing hymns, and 
carrying the crucifix, to assemble the children together, 
and lead them to the church to be catechised: nothing con¬ 
trasted so strongly with the remembrance of the advocate, 
who so lately had electrified the tribunals by his eloquence. 
Above all, he was most indefatigable in instructing and 
preparing them for their first communion. 

But as virtue only is not sufficient for a preacher of the 
Gospel, Alphonsus at the same time applied himself with 
ardor to the studies befitting his new position: he frequented 
the company of the most learned ecclesiastics, receiving 
daily lessons from D. Julius Torni, one of the most emi¬ 
nent theological professors, who was afterwards elevated to 
the episcopacy. His musical and poetical talents he em¬ 
ployed in composing sacred hymns for the use of the peo¬ 
ple, and soon had the satisfaction of seeing them replacing 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


37 


dangerous and loose songs. From the time he assumed 
the clerical habit, his mode of life became stricter than 
ever. Prayer and study occupied him alternately: he mor¬ 
tified his senses, refusing them every species of indulgence. 
He fasted, used the discipline, wore hair shirts, and prac¬ 
tised all kinds of penitential exercises, in order to follow 
more closely the steps of his Divine Master, and to keep 
his body under subjection. Every Saturday he fasted on 
bread and water, in honor of the Blessed Virgin; his clothes 
were as plain as possible; for some little time, to please his 
father, he allowed himself to be followed by a footman, but 
soon disembarrassed himself of this encumbrance. Thus 
bidding adieu to the vanity of time, and enriching his soul 
with treasures for eternity, he became the edification of the 
whole city. 

A year after Alphonsus had assumed the ecclesiastical 
habit, he received the tonsure from the hands of Mgr. Mira- 
bello, Archbishop of Nazareth, on the 23d of December, 
1724. On the 23d of September following, he was pro¬ 
moted to minor orders, with a dispensation, and in Decem¬ 
ber succeeding, was made subdeacon by Mgr. Javitti, bishop 
of Satriano. He then entered as novice in the Congrega¬ 
tion of the Missions. There he applied himself, with re¬ 
markable diligence, to the observance of all the rules and 
practices of piety; he accompanied the missionaries ins 
the country, catechising the children. But he did not 
confine his assistance to this Congregation; he frequented 
the house of the Fathers of St. Vincent of Paul, and he 
associated himself to a Congregation called that of the 
White Monks, proving his zeal in endeavoring to procure 
the aids of religion for condemned criminals. We give 
here the rules, which guided him as a candidate for the 
priesthood: 

1. The cleric, in order to sanctify himself, ought to fre 
quent the society of holy priests, to be edified by their good 
example. 

2. He ought to spend at least one hour daily in mental 
prayer, in order to live in fervor and recollection. 

4 


38 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


3. He ought to visit frequently the Holy Sacrament, par¬ 
ticularly where it is solemnly exposed. 

4. He ought to read the lives of holy priests, to furnish 
him with rules for his conduct, and excite him to imitate 
them. 

5. He ought to honor the most holy Virgin Mary, the 
mother and queen of the Church, and consecrate himself 
particularly to her service. 

6. He ought to take the greatest care of his reputation 
in all things, sustaining the honor of the ecclesiastical state. 

7. He ought to fly worldly conversation, to avoid famil¬ 
iarity with laymen, and particularly with females. 

8. He ought to be obedient to his superiors, fulfilling 
their commands, because it is the will of God. 

9. He ought to wear the cassock and the tonsure, to be 
modest without affectation, fastidiousness, or severity. 

10. He ought to be quiet and gentle in the house, exem¬ 
plary in the class, and edifying in the church, particularly 
during divine service. 

11. He ought to confess every eight days, and commu¬ 
nicate still oftener. 

12. In short, he ought to have negative sanctity, that is 
to say, to live free from sin, and he ought to have positive 
sanctity, namely, to practice every virtue. 


CHAPTER VI. 

Alphonsus is ordained Deacon and Priest. His first Labors , 
Zeal , and Success in the pulpit and the confessional. 

E DIFIED by Alphonsus’ holiness of life, the Cardinal 
Archbishop, by dispensation, gave him deacon’s orders 
on the 6th of April, 1726; and, satisfied with his zeal and 
talents, gave him permission to preach in all the churches 
of Naples. It was in the church of St. John at the Latin 
Gate he preached his first sermon, from these words of 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


39 


Isaias: “0 that Thou wouldst bend the heavens, and come 

down.the waters would burn with fire,” (ch. lxiv, 1-2;) 

and the fire of his eloquence was directed to show the amaz¬ 
ing love of Jesus Christ towards us, and our monstrous in¬ 
gratitude towards God. Such was the effect of this sermon, 
that invitations to preach poured in upon him from all quar¬ 
ters: his usual subject was the dogma of the Eucharist, and 
it rarely happened, that he did not preach in the church 
where the Blessed Sacrament was exposed. The Fathers 
of the Mission sent him also into different parts of the 
kingdom, where he attacked vice with such eloquence, that 
he did much to promote the glory of God in the salvation 
of souls. 

Overcome by constant exertion, his body sank under it, 
and he became so ill, that the physicians lost hope, and 
one night they sent in haste for a priest to administer the 
last sacraments. In this extremity he placed all his confi¬ 
dence in the Blessed Virgin, and eagerly asked them to 
bring the large statue of our Lady of Mercy, from the 
church in which, at the foot of this statue, he had renounced 
the world and consecrated himself to God. They brought 
the miraculous statue without delay, and placed it before 
his bed: his prayers were heard, he immediately felt better, 
and was pronounced out of danger. 

On the 21st of December in the same year, he was ele¬ 
vated, again by dispensation, to the priesthood, and if he 
before burned with zeal to promote the glory of God, from 
henceforth this fire seemed to consume him; descend¬ 
ing from the altar, he might be seen rushing like a lion 
on his prey, to attack the strongholds of Satan. The 
Cardinal, struck by the prodigies of grace which he ope¬ 
rated, appointed him to give spiritual exercises to Jthe 
clergy of Naples, and his Eminence had good reason to 
congratulate himself on his choice, because of the num¬ 
bers who attended, and the benediction poured out on his 
labors. 

Every where he was now sought after, curates desired 
him to preach in their churches, Congregations besought 


40 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


him to give spiritual exercises, and many monasteries de¬ 
sired with avidity to participate in the fruits of his powerful 
eloquence. Animated only by the Spirit of God, he preached 
Christ crucified, and far from studying fine phrases and elo¬ 
quent expressions, he avoided with the utmost care the vain 
ostentation of a superfluous erudition. To a style simple 
and popular, he knew how to add all that was solid and 
energetic. What rendered his eloquence most persuasive 
was his modesty, his recollection, his profound humility, and 
his contempt for the world. Nicolas Capasso, a man cel¬ 
ebrated for his learning and talent for satire, used to attend 
these sermons; on one occasion Alphonsus met him, and 
said, laughing: “I see you always at my sermons, you are 
probably about to publish some satire against me.” “No,” 
replied the other, “when I go to hear you preach, I listen 
with pleasure, because I see that you forget yourself in or¬ 
der to preach Christ crucified.” 

His time was fully occupied, either in the city of Naples, 
or the adjoining districts, where he was frequently sent on 
mission with the Fathers of the Congregation, and he was 
never known to excuse himself for want of time, or negli¬ 
gently to fulfil any duty to which he was appointed. The 
■Congregation enjoyed a benefice attached to a chapel, for 
which the testator had made it a rule, that it should be 
served by a single individual, and that the person appointed 
should be the most indefatigable of the Institute; and al¬ 
though Alphonsus was the last who had been admitted, he 
was chosen by universal consent to undertake the charge. 
It was about this time that his father happened to pass be¬ 
fore a church, and hearing the voice of his son preaching, 
he felt an irresistible feeling of curiosity to enter and 
listen; before long he was moved to tears, and touched 
to the heart at the recollection of his violent and harsh 
conduct towards him; full of such thoughts he returned 
home, and scarcely had Alphonsus entered the house, when 
he ran to his room, and embracing him tenderly, said: “O 
my son, what do I not owe you; it is you who have to-day 
taught me to know God! I bless you—I bless you a thou- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


41 


sand times for having embraced a state so holy and so 
agreeable to God.” 

Notwithstanding his incessant labor to promote the sal¬ 
vation of others, he did not neglect his own; every day he 
consecrated some hours to meditation, without including 
the time spent in reading the lives of the saints, which he 
used to call “the Gospel in practice.” Every morning he 
said mass with so much devotion, that it occupied a con¬ 
siderable time, besides long preparation, and returning 
thanks afterwards. Not a day passed without his visiting 
Jesus Christ in the church where the forty hours’ adoration 
was made, and there he might be seen, sometimes for hours, 
contemplating his divine Redeemer: never forgetting the 
“quiescite pusillum,” the repose which Jesus Christ recom¬ 
mended to his apostles, he from time to time suspended his 
apostolical labors to “enter into his chamber, shut the door, 
and commune with his God.” 

He had, as we have already seen, contracted an intimacy 
with several priests, whose views and feelings were in ac¬ 
cordance with his own. In order to tighten the bonds of 
charity more and more, one of them, D. de Alteriis, gave 
a country house, where there was an oratory, in which was 
placed a beautiful statue of the Virgin. Once a month 
they retired thither, to spend three or four days in peniten¬ 
tial exercises. Their repasts were simple, and a little statue 
of the Infant Jesus was placed as if presiding at the table, 
to whom each one made an offering of part of the food 
which was served him. Their recreation was singing 
hymns, before they again resumed their holy meditations. 
They afterwards occupied a house still more retired and 
solitary, where they employed themselves, with unceasing 
satisfaction, in the care of their souls, and renewed the 
fervor of their spirit. 

Alphonsus had been one year a priest, when he received 
from Cardinal Pignatelli faculties for hearing confessions. 
No sooner was he seated in the confessional, than he saw 
himself surrounded by persons of every rank and condition; 
he received all with unexampled charity; he was the first 
4 * 


42 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


to take his place in the confessional, and the last to leave 
it. Tt was his invariable opinion, that the office of confessor 
is more profitable to souls, and less apt to produce vain 
glory in the priest, than any other priestly function. For 
by confession, sinners are immediately reconciled to God, 
and the grace of Jesus Christ is applied to them supera¬ 
bundantly. Severe towards himself only, he treated the 
greatest sinners with inexpressible meekness, and, without 
excusing the sin, was full of compassion for the sinner, 
when, sincerely repenting, he wished to make his peace 
with God; and the more a soul was sunk in vice, the more 
compassionate was his manner, in order to draw it from the 
fangs of Satan, and lead it into the arms of Jesus Christ. 
In his old age he said, that he did not remember ever 
having sent away a single sinner without having suc¬ 
ceeded in reconciling him to God, much less of ever hav¬ 
ing treated one with harshness and rigor. He received 
all sinners with kindness, instilling into them a great confi¬ 
dence in the blood of Christ shed for them, and pointing 
out to them the way of withdrawing from their sins. “ If 
the sinner is repulsed,” he used to say, “he will never re¬ 
solve to abandon his sin.” “Let us give to penitents,” 
said he, “the penance they will perform willingly; but let 
ms beware of loading them with obligations they would ac¬ 
cept with repugnance, and afterwards abandon easily. The 
penance ought to be such as to inspire horror for the sin, 
but not for the penance.” Thus he frequently enjoined 
the penance of returning to confess, of frequenting the 
sacraments, of hearing mass daily, of meditating on the pas¬ 
sion of Christ, or on some eternal truth. For this purpose 
he composed a small collection of meditations, and gave 
them often to his penitents. He also imposed, as penances 
of obligation, to visit daily the Blessed Sacrament, or some 
image of the Virgin Mary, to recite the Rosary in her honor, 
and he persuaded the heads of houses to recite it regularly 
with their family. As to fasting, disciplines, and penances 
of this kind, he might counsel them occasionally, but never 
commanded them. “If the penitent be contrite,” he said, 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


43 


“he will do these things of himself, otherwise he will neg¬ 
lect the penance, and relapse into sin, if it be made obliga¬ 
tory.” Thus he daily gained a multitude of sinners, who 
had long lived in disorder and vice. 

He often went to preach in the market-places and at the 
Lavinaro, where the dregs of the people of Naples are to 
be found. He delighted in seeing himself surrounded by 
the lowest, the lazaroni, and such like: he enlightened 
them, instructed them, and disposed them to receive grace 
through the sacraments. Many of those who had been 
great sinners, conceived under his direction such a lively 
horror of sin, that they became instant in prayer, and burned 
with an ardent love for Jesus Christ. Among the almost 
innumerable conversions of which he was the instrument, 
two, in particular, deserve to be mentioned. 

The first is that of Peter Barbarese. He was a poor 
school-master, who taught reading and writing, but his 
heart being full of evil thoughts, instead of enlightening 
his scholars, he corrupted their will. He attended a sermon 
of Alphonsus, which moved him to contrition; entering 
into himself, and full of repentance, he threw himself at 
his feet, forsook sin, and embraced a life of penitence. 
Regenerated by grace, all his endeavors were now directed 
to inspire his pupils with the greatest horror of sin. He 
assembled them every morning at an early hour, and con¬ 
ducted them to church to hear mass, after which he made 
them meditate on some eternal truth, suggested to them holy 
resolutions, and finished by reciting the acts of faith, hope 
and charity. Again in the evening he took them to visit 
the Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed Virgin. He wished 
also that they should go weekly to confession, and prepared 
the elder ones for making their first communion. He was 
careful in instructing them to make acts of faith previously, 
and thanksgiving afterward, and began a practice still in 
use in Naples, of the more advanced instructing, and 
attending to, the others on such occasions. 

The other was that of Lucas Nardone: this man had led 
an irregular life as a soldier, had often deserted, and at 


44 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


length was about to be condemned to die, when some one 
obtained his pardon. He was, however, chased from the 
army with infamy, and lived covered with shame, and loaded 
with sin. He one day heard Alphonsus preach, and touched 
by grace, sought an audience. He was received with open 
arms, encouraged, consoled, and led to the right path, and 
soon became, as it were, a furnace of divine love, gaining 
many souls to Christ by dragging them from the toils of 
Satan. 

The following is an instance of the unction Alphonsus’ 
simplest words had, powerfully to move sinners to repent¬ 
ance. A gentleman had detailed to him in confession the 
greatest crimes with the utmost indifference. When he 
had finished, Alphonsus asked him if he had nothing more 
to say. “ Nothing, that is all,” he coldly replied. “What,” 
answered Alphonsus, “that is all! now do you not see 
that the only thing wanting to complete your career, is to 
put on the turban and become a Turk? what more could 
you have done than the crimes which you have just con¬ 
fessed? Tell me now, my child, what evil has Jesus Christ 
done to you?” These words, pronounced with the force 
of ardent zeal, went directly to the heart. “ Have I, then,” 
said he to himself, “committed such sins, that I cannot 
commit greater?” and penetrated with the deepest contri¬ 
tion, he bewailed his past disorders, placed himself in the 
hands of Alphonsus, and led ever afterwards a most exem¬ 
plary and devout life. 

The means Alphonsus employed to lead his penitents to 
perfection, may be reduced to two, meditation or prayer, 
and mortification. He affirmed there could be no true 
prayer without mortification, and to practice mortifica¬ 
tion, the spirit of prayer was indispensable. He pre¬ 
scribed prayer, saying, “He who prays will certainly be 
saved, and he who neglects prayer will as certainly be 
damned.” But above all remedies, he prescribed frequent 
communion, and daily visits to the Blessed Sacrament, par¬ 
ticularly in the church where it was exposed for the forty 
hours’ adoration. He exacted besides, a filial confidence 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


45 


in the Divine Mother Mary, he wished that all should daily 
recite the Rosary in her honor, visit some church where her 
image was placed, and have a picture of her at the head of 
their bed. He required of all his penitents to communi¬ 
cate at each of her feasts, and was careful to propose some 
devotional practice for each of her Novenas. He recom¬ 
mended to others to fast, as he practised it himself, every 
Saturday in her honor, and on the eves of all her feasts. 

Although he preferred to devote himself to the service 
of the poor, and of the lower class of the people, he did not 
refuse to direct those of higher rank, considering the great 
influence they possess over others, for evil or for good. 
Around his confessional might be seen persons of all con¬ 
ditions, and the highest did not disdain to await their turn 
with the lowest, submitting willingly to any inconvenience, 
rather than not have him for their director. 


CHAPTER VII. 

Alphonsus establishes public Meetings for the advancement of 
his penitents , and the instruction of poor people in general. 

C ROWDS coming thus from every quarter to obtain the 
benefit of his direction, and as he had no time to give 
many fervent souls the instructions he judged necessary, to 
advance them in the way of perfection, he thought of as¬ 
sembling them for instruction, in some solitary place, during 
the summer evenings, and first chose a spot near the con¬ 
vent of the bare-footed Carmelites, afterwards, beyond the 
convent of St. Angelo, and, at last, fixed on a site before 
the church of the Star, which belongs to the Minims. The 
assembly consisted not of the noble, but of the poor, who 
came, after their day’s work, from different quarters of the 
city, some a considerable distance. Other priests also took 
part in the good work. In this assembly, composed of 
persons low in the eyes of the world, but great in the sight 




46 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


of God, Alphonsus daily preached the truths of religion, 
showing them the horrible nature of vice, and the sublime 
beauty of Christian virtue. The other priests spoke alter¬ 
nately to the people, pointing out to them the different de¬ 
grees of the love of God and our neighbor, showing them 
the necessity of mortifying the flesh and of self-denial, if 
they would advance in perfection, and the misery produced 
by unrepressed passion. At other times they would talk of 
imitating Christ crucified, and propose for their example 
the life of some Saint, thus exciting them to virtue. There 
were some individuals, residing in the neighborhood, to 
whom these meetings seemed not a little strange, and be¬ 
cause they were new, they took it for granted they must be 
evil. In the hope of confirming their suspicions, they con¬ 
cealed themselves behind their windows, to hear what was 
going on. Now, some of these poor people were so anx¬ 
ious to do penance, that they fasted rigorously, and one 
evening a poor artisan was pointed out to Alphonsus, who 
ate nothing but raw vegetables and roots, though obliged 
to work hard to support his family. He began to reprove 
him for this excess, when D. Joseph Porpora took up the 
word and said: “God wills that we should eat in order to 
live;” and added, laughing, “if any one gives you four cut¬ 
lets, you will do well to take advantage of it.” The mul¬ 
titude were much amused at this, and began to laugh, each 
one passing the joke to his neighbor. The listeners, hear¬ 
ing the words “cutlets, eating,” thought the people were 
an assemblage of libertines; and, going still further, came 
to the conclusion that they must be a club of Molinists, 
and a band of heretics. They reported the matter to Car¬ 
dinal Pignatelli. As the accusation referred to nocturnal 
assemblies, and the circumstances seemed equivocal, his 
Eminence supposed they must be evil-disposed persons, 
and he was confirmed in this opinion, in consequence of 
several small bands of Lutheran soldiers having formed 
themselves in different parts of the town, some of whom 
had already been seized. Information was conveyed to 
the Governor, who ordered a captain of the guard to dis- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


47 


guise himself, and go to one of the meetings. They were 
then in the middle of the Novena of the Nativity of our 
Lady, and Alphonsus, in proposing some pious practices 
in honor of the infant Mary, made use of certain expres¬ 
sions, which seemed mysterious and suspicious to the cap¬ 
tain. In consequence of his report, the Governor and the 
Cardinal were persuaded it could be nothing good, and 
ordered both priests and laymen to be arrested. Next 
morning, Alphonsus, happening to be at the palace of the 
Cardinal, heard of the affair and the proposed arrest, and 
not doubting it was his own meeting, he hastened to warn 
his penitents not to assemble at the usual place. It was 
impossible, however, to warn every one, and those who 
lived at a distance, came as usual, among whom were the 
two formerly mentioned, Peter Barbarese and Lucas Nar- 
done. The poor people had scarcely arrived, when they 
were surrounded by archers and sergeants, and carried off 
to the guard-house; from whence the two prisoners, es¬ 
corted each by an archer and a sergeant, were conducted 
before the Procurator of the court. The good penitents 
took the matter calmly: “Comrade,” said Nardone to the 
other, “this piece of politeness is perhaps not much to 
your taste.” “On the contrary,” replied Barbarese, “I am 
well satisfied; Jesus Christ was bound with ropes, and we 
are treated much more civilly, only a simple cord at the 
arm.” The Procurator having ordered them to declare 
what they did at the place of the Star, they replied, that 
they were poor ignorant people, who came to receive in¬ 
struction from D. Alphonsus de Liguori and other priests. 
When the Procurator heard the name of Liguori, he ex¬ 
claimed: “God forgive you; you have alarmed the two 
courts, the ecclesiastical and the civil!” They were then 
conducted to the house of the Governor, where the mention 
of the name of Liguori was at once sufficient to establish 
their innocence. While the Governor questioned them 
about the pious practices which they were taught, they 
heard the sound of bells announcing that the holy Viaticum 
was being carried through the street; at once the two pri- 


48 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


soners turned their backs on the Governor, and ran to pros¬ 
trate themselves at the balcony, crying out: “It is our Lord, 
it is our Lord !” The Governor asked no more questions, 
but dismissed them with tears of tenderness and consolation. 

Alphonsus, when he heard what had happened, went 
next day to the Cardinal, acknowledging himself as the 
author of the mischief* and alone deserving of punishment. 
His Eminence soon quieted him by expressing his satisfac¬ 
tion at the good he had done, but notwithstanding advised 
him to discontinue these meetings. “The times,” he said, 
“are too critical: we must be careful that wolves may not 
cover themselves with sheep’s clothing, to do mischief un¬ 
der the shadow of your name.” 

Alphonsus did great good in Naples by these confer¬ 
ences, and many of those who had attended them, ever 

after led the lives of saints. Some entered into religion, 

© * 

while others remained in the world, to embalm it by the 
odor of their virtue. The two most remarkable were An¬ 
thony Pennino, who sold eggs through the town, and found 
means, while pursuing his avocation, to draw many souls 
from perdition. After his death he appeared to several 
persons and converted them. The other, Leonard Cristano, 
went through the streets with his ass, and sold chesnuts; 
both of them performed miracles during their life and after 
their death. 

The triumph of the devil seemed complete when these 
meetings were put down, but here, as elsewhere, he found 
himself defeated. Convinced by experience how useful 
they had been, Alphonsus suggested to Peter Barbarese and 
a few others, that they should give instruction to the laza- 
roni and other people of the same class, in suitable places 
removed from public observation. Peter, thus encouraged, 
began to instruct the little porters or errand boys, in the 
shop of a barber. A priest who saw the good he was do¬ 
ing, advised him to meet his little flock in a neighboring 
chapel; he did so, and every evening about sixty young 
people attended, without counting those of a more ad¬ 
vanced age. Lucas Nardone, and several others, pursued 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


49 


the same course, so that in different quarters of the town, 
the penitents of Alphonsus were busy in drawing souls 
from destruction, and winning them to Jesus Christ. He, 
on his part, was careful to visit and superintend these 
meetings, animating them to pursue the great work of their 
salvation, and leading them to the love of the cross. 

One evening, Canon Romano was taking a walk in the 
neighborhood where Peter Barbarese taught the most nu¬ 
merous of these assemblages, when a friend met him, and 
said: “Come with me, I wish to give you an agreeable 
surprise;” and led him to where Peter was instructing his 
hearers. Delighted with what he had seen, Romano could 
not resist detailing the whole to Cardinal Pignatelli, who was 
so pleased at the good that was done, that he suggested to 
the Canon, that he should instruct the people himself. Peter 
willingly resigned his place, and immediately commenced 
assembling in another house more lazaroni and porters. 
The meetings began to multiply, and at length, in almost 
every quarter of Naples, the fervent penitents of Alphonsus 
might be found, instructing and catechising the ignorant. 
In after times, he never came to Naples without visiting 
these favorite meetings, exhorting them to perseverance in 
the service of God, and in gaining conquests to Christ. 
Thus Alphonsus was consoled by the thought, that the over¬ 
throw of one good undertaking had been the very means 
of producing another much more extensive, and still more 
agreeable to God. The work continued to increase, and 
before long, these meetings, protected by the Cardinal him¬ 
self, ceased to be held in shops and private houses, and 
were transferred to public oratories and churches. In 1834, 
they amounted to a hundred, numbering each about three 
hundred persons, and the good they produced among the 
working classes was incalculable. The most zealous priests 
are attached to them, and the Archbishops of Naples find 
them invaluable. Barbarese lived to an advanced age, and 
so did Nardone, both persevering to the end in their pious 
labor. After the death of Barbarese, his body retained 
such an appearance of life, that for some time they hesi- 
5 


50 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


tated to bury him. He left behind him a great reputation 
for sanctity, as did also his fellow-laborer, Nardone. AI- 
phonsus occupied himself also in establishing schools for 
women; a well educated lady was placed at the head of 
them, to direct the others, and he himself visited them from 
time to time; but this good work did not last long. 


CHAPTER VIII. 

Alphonsus retires into the Chinese College , and gives mis¬ 
sions in the country. 

I T was against his will that Alphonsus continued to live 
in the house of his father; he longed for a solitary cell, 
where, retired from the world, he could enjoy that calm and 
delicious peace, to be found only in solitude. God soon 
furnished him with an occasion. A celebrated missionary, 
D. Matthew Ripa, had lately returned from China; he had 
brought with him a Chinese Doctor, and four young men 
full of zeal, with the intention of founding at Naples a 
college for the Chinese. God blessed the enterprise, and 
on the 14th of April, 1729, they opened the house of the 
Chinese Mission, with the consent and authority of Pope 
Benedict XIII. Alphonsus, considering the excellence of 
this institution, the rare merits of its founder, and the great 
fervor which reigned there, with the poverty and privation 
which they endured for love of God, formed the resolution 
of joining F. Ripa, and sharing, as a pensioner of the house, 
in the fervor which animated this new society. He entered 
the college about the middle of June, 1729. A resolution 
so unforeseen vexed his father extremely, who deeply re¬ 
gretted the loss of the society of one whom he now con¬ 
sidered less as a son, than as an angel sent him by God. 
Painful as the separation was, he had not, however, the 
courage to oppose so laudable a design. 

No sooner did Alphonsus find himself in the college, 
delivered from the surveillance of his parents, than he gave 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHOUSUS. 


51 


himself up to the practice of mortification with more free¬ 
dom and ardor than ever. He was clothed in sackcloth, 
and wore chains of iron; several times a day, he took the 
discipline until the blood flowed. The wretched food which 
he ate was not sufficient for his love of mortification, but 
he added to it bitter ingredients, such as myrrh, aloes, and 
wormwood. He ate but little, or not at all, of the fruits of 
which the others partook, and fasted every Saturday on 
bread and water, and generally ate in a kneeling position, 
or sitting on the floor. In his chamber he would not allow 
himself a chair, but stood while he studied, holding his 
.book in his hand, and keeping little stones in his shoes. 
Mgr. Coppola, Bishop of Cassano, said, that his penances 
surpassed even those of St. Peter of Alcantara. Besides, 
he never exempted himself from the privations imposed 
upon all the members of the community, and indeed the 
new-born Congregation wanted not for opportunities to 
practise poverty. Although their rule limited them to the 
use of vegetables and a little boiled meat, they frequently 
h^d no meat at all, and often the scraps which appeared on 
their table were stale; and when these failed, they had ordi¬ 
narily but a salad of mushrooms. Sometimes they could 
only afford to buy bones, from which they strove to extract 
a miserable soup. During Lent they scarcely ever had fish, 
a pilchard with their vegetables was a feast to them, and 
when they did buy fish, it was always the cheapest that 
could be found. They sowed beets in a little plot of 
ground attached to the house, and for months they lived on 
these roots, varied occasionally with a few pears. Their 
evening repast usually consisted of the remnants of dinner, 
boiled with a few coarse biscuits; their bread in general 
was of the coarsest kind. And so far from ever showing 
the slightest repugnance to all this, Alphonsus on the con¬ 
trary rejoiced in it, and encouraged the others to suffer 
with pleasure, that they might become more holy and 
agreeable to God. 

In the meanwhile he continued to draw new strength 
from prayer, and the examples of the saints. Besides the 


52 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


meditation of the community, he daily spent an hour and 
a half, at least, before the Blessed Sacrament in the church 
where the forty hours’ adoration was held. He spent whole 
nights in watching, sometimes in his room, sometimes in 
the church, before the Blessed Sacrament. And the little 
rest he granted to nature was given grudgingly, and not 
without many contrivances to render it as little agreeable 
as possible; he often lay on the bare ground, or on a hard 
board. It might naturally be supposed, that amidst these 
bodily austerities undertaken and endured from pure love 
of God, his mind would be enjoying that foretaste of hea¬ 
ven which nothing worldly can give; but it was not thus 
with our Saint; God permitted him to feel the nature of 
our Saviour’s anguish, when he exclaimed, “My God! my 
God! why hast thou forsaken me?” His heart enjoyed no 
consolation. He was deprived of all those favors which 
render every trial light and easy. He believed he had lost 
all devotion for mass, his prayer was arid; he sought God, 
and found him not. “I go to Jesus,” he said, “and He 
repulses me. I have recourse to the Blessed Virgin, and 
she listens not to me.” All he did at this time was done 
by the mere light of faith, which made him resolute in 
seeking to please God in all things, without being impelled 
either by the hope of heaven or the fear of hell. During 
the time he remained in this college, he continued to give 
the greatest proofs of his zeal. Crowds came to the 
church to confess to him; every Friday he discoursed on 
the glories of Mary, and recited with the people the chap¬ 
let of her sorrows. He celebrated several Novenas in the 
course of the year, during which he preached in honor of 
the Blessed Virgin, or the holy family, the titular patrons of 
the college. Every year he gave retreats, to the great bene¬ 
fit of the crowds who thronged the church during those 
holy exercises. He scarcely took time to eat; and often 
before his meal was over, numbers were waiting for being 
heard in confession. In the evenings, after the exercises 
of the forty hours’ adoration, he used to enter the church 
with a train of penitents, whose confessions he heard until 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


53 


late. F. Ripa, in his memoirs of the Congregation, writes 
thus of Alphonsus: “We have for pensioner the noble D. 
Alphonsus de Liguori, a priest eminent not for his birth 
only, but for his excellent conduct and general qualifica¬ 
tions as a missionary. Although not aggregated to the 
mission, he has nevertheless the desire, and holds himself 
ready, to go to China, as he has more than once declared 
to his director. Assured of his zeal and his talents, I gave 
him the entire care of the church, and in all that regards 
the pulpit and the confessional, he has acquitted himself to 
the great advantage of souls.” 

It would be impossible to enumerate the number of ob¬ 
stinate sinners, old in crime, whom he reclaimed, kindling 
within their obdurate hearts a tender love towards their 
Saviour. He possessed a peculiar gift, in the confessional, 
of inspiring his penitents with compunction, and scarcely 
had they knelt at his feet, when they felt their hearts touched 
with sorrow for their sins. He converted a celebrated 
courtesan, who was afterwards eminent for her sanctity, 
and many who had lived ordinary good lives, became, under 
his direction, models of perfection. He also induced a 
number who were occupied in worldly pursuits, to renounce 
the world and consecrate themselves to God. The first 
sermon he preached, when once giving a retreat, inspired 
fifteen young persons with the resolution of giving them¬ 
selves to the service of God. 

We will relate more fully one instance only of a very 
remarkable conversion of this kind. A young lady, named 
Mary, was a source of great anxiety to her pious mother, 
as her heart and mind were filled with the world, to the 
exclusion of every thing serious. She besought Alphonsus 
to pray for the conversion of her daughter; he did so, and 
the young girl seemed to be reformed; but before long she 
became more giddy and thoughtless than evCr. Again the 
poor mother had recourse to Alphonsus, who, at her earn¬ 
est entreaty, spoke seriously to the girl, strongly represent¬ 
ing to her the danger of her position; and she, touched to 
the quick, retired to a corner of the church, and began bit- 
5 * 


54 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


terly to bewail her sins. Alphonsus, seeing this, before he 
quitted the confessional, called her back: “Mary, 5 ’ said 
he, “will you sincerely give yourself to God?” “Yes,” 
she instantly replied. “But without reserve, and with your 
whole heart?” he continued. “Without the slightest re¬ 
serve, with my whole heart,” said the girl with much en- 
ergy. “Then,” said he, “go instantly, cut off your hair, 
and become a Carmelite.” She obeyed, took the religious 
habit, persevered, and, after her death, was invoked by 
many, and worked several miracles. 

At this period of his life, his labors were so incessant and 
multifarious, that we can scarcely conceive the possibility 
of one individual accomplishing the half he performed. 
Preaching in various churches in Naples, giving retreats, 
hearing confessions, and going on missions to the neigh¬ 
boring towns,—he yet found time for all, without encroach¬ 
ing either on his studies or devotions. In the year 1729, a 
frightful epidemic ravaged the city of Naples; he profited 
by this occasion to sacrifice himself more and more; and 
amongst the brothers of the Congregation of Apostolical 
Missions, he was ever the first in anointing the sick. Be¬ 
sides, he opened a mission in the large church of the Holy 
Spirit, and took advantage of the time, to withdraw souls 
from the power of Satan. In consequence of his great 
fatigues, he was seized the following year with a pulmonary 
complaint, which brought him to the gates of death, but 
again his beloved Mother performed a miracle in his favor. 
About this period, his life was also exposed to a danger of 
a different kind. He was sitting with the other fathers 
during recreation, when a tremendous thunder-storm came 
on, and a bolt fell in the midst of them. F. Ripa was 
wounded in the throat, while Alphonsus and others fell 
down senseless; they soon recovered, however, to thank 
God for their escape, and devote themselves with renewed 
zeal to his service. They were saved by an evident inter¬ 
position of Providence. 

In the spring of the year 1731, the Puglia and the neigh¬ 
boring provinces suffered exceedingly from an earthquake 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


55 


The bishops, that the opportunity might not be lost for call¬ 
ing the people to repentance, invited the brothers of the 
Propaganda. On this occasion, Alphonsus, as usual, pro¬ 
duced a miraculous effect, and many were reclaimed and 
converted. The town of Foggia had been almost reduced 
to a mass of ruins; but the God who smote them, would 
also comfort them, by giving them a miraculous proof of his 
love. They venerated in this town a very old and miracu¬ 
lous picture of the Virgin, the colors of which being almost 
obliterated by age, it was glazed, and covered with a curtain. 
The people, terrified by new repeated shocks of the earth¬ 
quake, came in crowds to place themselves under the pro¬ 
tection of the mother of mercy. On the morning of the 
22d of March, while the multitude were kneeling before 
this picture, the Blessed Virgin showed herself to them 
under the appearance of a young woman, and this miracu¬ 
lous manifestation was repeated for several days, and seen 
by crowds, who came to venerate the picture. This appa¬ 
rition made a great noise throughout the kingdom, and 
when their mission was finished, Alphonsus and his com¬ 
panions went to visit the miraculous picture. The bishop, 
Mgr. Faccola, insisted he should give a Novena in honor 
of the Blessed Virgin; at first he refused, having no per¬ 
mission from his superiors to prolong his stay, but at length 
he yielded to the circumstances of the time and the urgent 
entreaties from all sides. The concourse of people was 
such that the greater part could not enter the church; they 
therefore erected a pulpit at the door, at the side of which 
was exposed the miraculous picture. The effects were ex¬ 
traordinary, and beyond description; great as was the num¬ 
ber of priests, they were not sufficient to hear the confes¬ 
sions of crowds, who, touched to the quick by the dis¬ 
courses of Alphonsus, turned from their wickedness and 
wished to be reconciled with God. 

There happened to him, during this Novena, a very re¬ 
markable event. His delight was to remain near the 
miraculous image, from which he could hardly turn himself 
away. One day, when the people had withdrawn, and the 


56 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


image was replaced in the church, he got up on the altar 
to examine it more nearly; but scarcely had he placed him¬ 
self in front of it, when he fell into an ecstasy, which lasted 
nearly an hour. The Virgin would fully satisfy his devo¬ 
tion, crowning his happiness by showing to him her face 
radiant with celestial beauty. When the vision disappeared, 
he descended from the altar, inebriated with joy, intoning 
the “Ave Maris Stella,” in which he was joined by about 
thirty persons who had witnessed the occurrence. He 
afterwards attested having seen the Virgin Mother under 
the appearance of a young girl of thirteen or fourteen years 
of age, wearing a white veil, and moving from side to side. 
The next morning, he described his vision to a painter, and 
the picture drawn at the time is still preserved at Ciorani. 
On returning to Naples in the middle of the month of May, 
the Canon D. Julius Torni, whether he really blamed him 
for giving a Novena at Foggia, or whether he ivould only 
try his humility, reprimanded him strongly in presence 
of all the Congregation. Alphonsus did not attempt to 
excuse himself, he did not speak; but, on the contrary, re¬ 
joiced to see himself mortified before such a respectable 
assembly. 


CHAPTER IX. 

Alphonsus is called to found a Congregation of Missionary 
Pi'iests. 

A LPHONSUS being exhausted and worn out by his la¬ 
bors in the provinces, his friends began to have serious 
apprehensions for his health, and accordingly it was deter¬ 
mined he should retire to the country, until he should re¬ 
cover his strength. The place fixed upon, was a hermitage 
in the neighborhood of Amalfi, situated on a hill near the 
sea. He was accompanied by Joseph Jorio, John Mazzini, 
Pansa, and two others. When they had arrived at Amalfi 
and went to pay their respects to the Archbishop, they met 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


57 


the Vicar-General, who strongly urged them to change 
their plan, and go to a hermitage near Scala, where they 
would be at the same time useful to the poor goatherds of 
the neighborhood, who were destitute of spiritual aid. The 
proposal was willingly agreed to, and they established 
themselves at St. Mary of the Mount—this was the name of 
the hermitage. They had obtained permission to keep the 
Blessed Sacrament in the hermitage, and while Alphonsus 
was recovering strength of body, he gained new strength 
to his soul in the presence of his beloved Saviour. 

They began to catechise the poor shepherds and goat¬ 
herds, with the other inhabitants of the country around, 
and heard their confessions; and this sojourn in the coun¬ 
try became an uninterrupted mission, which produced abun¬ 
dant fruits. It was now that Alphonsus became acquainted 
with the extreme destitution of the people scattered over 
the country, who often lived without the knowledge neces¬ 
sary for salvation; many, being without the sacraments and 
the word of life, had to be instructed in the first rudiments 
of faith, before they could make their confession. He was 
soon invited by the inhabitants of Scala, and the bishop, to 
preach in that town. He accepted the invitation, and 
preached one sermon, which produced all the effect of a 
regular mission. It was on the Sunday following the Oc¬ 
tave of the Blessed Sacrament; he urged upon them such 
strong motives for loving Jesus in His Sacrament, and for 
detesting sin, that the whole congregation were dissolved 
in tears, and their sobs and groans resounded in the neigh¬ 
borhood. The superior of the nuns of St. Saviour besought 
him also to preach in their church, which he did with his 
usual success, and the bishop was so delighted, that he 
engaged him for a Novena, to be celebrated in the Cathe¬ 
dral for the feast of the Holy Redeemer, in the month of 
September. 

He continued to labor among the good shepherds of St. 
Mary of the Mount, until September, when he returned to 
Scala, accompanied by John Mazzini. During the Novena 
he gave a retreat to the nuns of St. Saviour. This was 


58 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


the moment God had chosen, to make known his will to 
him. There was in the Convent a nun of great sanctity, 
possessed of supernatural gifts. Alphonsus had often be¬ 
sought God, even with tears, to choose some one to labor 
with efficacy among the abandoned people of the country: 
the nun knew nothing of what was passing in his mind; 
but on the 13th of October, she saw in a vision a new Con¬ 
gregation of priests, who were employed in the care of 
thousands living in villages and scattered hamlets, destitute 
of spiritual aid; she saw Alphonsus at the head of this 
Congregation, and heard a voice which said: “This is the 
man I have chosen to be the instrument of my glory in this 
great work.” A few days after, she told him, in the con¬ 
fessional, of the vision she had had, and of the designs God 
had upon him. Pearing it was but a vain illusion, not¬ 
withstanding*^ remarkable conformity between her vision 
and his own thoughts, Alphonsus reproved the nun, and 
treated her as a visionary. She humbled herself before 
him, but persisted, and the more he repulsed her, the more 
she assured him that God had chosen him to be the instru¬ 
ment of his mercy towards the inhabitants of the country. 

On his return to the house, F. Mazzini, seeing his trouble 
and agitation, asked the cause. He hesitated to tell him, 
when Father Mazzini said: “I know you have had a dis¬ 
pute with one of the nuns, for I heard you speaking loud.” 
Yielding to his friend’s desire, Alphonsus told him what 
the nun had said; and far from treating it lightly, Mazzini 
did all in his power to persuade him of its truth. The 
sanctity of the nun was undoubted. “Besides,” argued 
his friend, “an institution of the kind is much wanted in 
this kingdom, and who knows what designs God may have 
upon you?” “I approve much of such an institution,” 
said Alphonsus, “and I foresee the glorious fruits of it, but 
what can I do myself? Where are my companions?” 
“Here am I for one,” answered Mazzini, “and I am sure 
other priests will be found willing to consecrate themselves 
to a work which must contribute so much to the glory of 
God!” In the meanwhile, Mgr. Falcoja, Bishop of Castel- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


59 


lamare, arrived at Scala; he was a prelate of eminent sanc¬ 
tity, and skilled in the science of spirituality, and the 
Bishop of Scala was not inferior to him. The presence of 
these two saintly men raised Mazzini’s hopes, and he urged 
Alphonsus to consult with them. He accordingly told 
them all, and after several days spent in narrowly examin¬ 
ing the subject, they both agreed that the inspiration came 
from God; the vision of the nun strengthened their confi¬ 
dence, she being a person peculiarly favored by God, whose 
sincerity and love of truth were undoubted. This nun, sister 
Mary Celeste Castarosa, died the 14th of September, 1745, 
at the Convent of St. Saviour, at Foggia; her body is still 
entire and uncorrupted. The nuns open the coffin and 
clothe the body anew, every time any of the sisterhood dies. 

Alphonsus returned to Naples, and immediately opened 
his whole heart to his own spiritual director, F. Pagano. 
This sage director, after a careful consideration of some 
days, hesitated not to declare his opinion, that such an un¬ 
dertaking could not fail to promote the glory of God and 
the salvation of souls; but doubting his own judgment, he 
advised Alphonsus to consult with more enlightened per¬ 
sons. He accordingly spoke with F. Vincent Cutica, su¬ 
perior of the Mission of St. Vincent of Paul, and F. Manu- 
lius, a Jesuit, both of whom were much venerated in Naples. 
Their opinions coincided with that of F. Pagano, viz. that 
it was the will of God, and they urged him to respond to the 
call of Heaven. Still unconvinced, he consulted others, 
eminent for their sanctity and wisdom, and finding all of 
the same mind, he could no longer doubt, and taking 
courage, he gave himself unreservedly to God. But a work 
which was intended by God to promote the salvation of 
souls, not in Italy only, but in all other kingdoms of Eu¬ 
rope, and in America, could not fail to stir up all the pow¬ 
ers of hell, to accomplish, if possible, its overthrow, yea, 
even to prevent its being begun. 

As soon as Alphonsus’ determination was known, all Na¬ 
ples seemed to be in arms against him* Some said that he 
was mad, and that his brain must be affected; others treated 


60 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


him as a fanatic and a visionary; some affirmed it was pure 
pride, and that he had been spoiled by too much praise. 
It was in the College of the Chinese he found his greatest 
adversaries; his companions there loaded him with blame 
and ridicule. F. Ripa, who was then at Rome, did, on his 
return, all in his power to convince him that his plans were 
impossible, and useless, even if they should succeed. See¬ 
ing, however, that all his endeavors to dissuade him were in 
vain, he chose to believe with the others that his head was 
affected, and that he was the victim of some delusion, and 
reproached him both privately and publicly with what he 
called his extravagance. The Fathers of the Propaganda 
also ranged themselves against him. Having heard of the 
vision of the nun, they imagined it was the sole basis of 
his enterprise, and were shocked at his allowing himself to 
be led away by what they called the reveries of a young 
nun. But what afflicted Alphonsus most of all, was, that 
these opinions were taken up by his uncle Matthew Gizzio, 
Rector of the Seminary, and by the Superior of the Propa¬ 
ganda, Julius Torni. They assailed him on every side, 
while he only replied that he would do nothing disapproved 
of by his director. “It is not God who directs you,” said 
his uncle, “but you blindly follow the reveries of a nun, 
and do you not see that you are the victim of an illusion?” 
“I do not regulate my conduct by visions,” he meekly re¬ 
plied; “I regulate it by the Gospek” On another occasion 
his uncle jeeringly asked him if he ever expected to realize 
his schemes. “He who trusts in God,” replied he, “can 
do all, and should hope all.” At last his uncle went so 
far, that, in the presence of some other canons, he treated 
him as a fool whose brain was turned by self-conceit. One 
day as Alphonsus entered the sacristy of the cathedral, 
several persons of consequence began to abuse him before 
others in authority, who happened to be present. “Keep 
to your word now,” said they, “and make haste to show 
the Church those new institutions and foundations which 
you have promised her.” Alphonsus said nothing, but 
bowing his head, humbled himself interiorly. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


61 


After some time, his uncle insisted that he should take 
advice from F. Louis Fiorillo, a learned, and pious Domini¬ 
can, by whom he himself was guided. At first he declined, 
but on his afterwards repeating to F. Pagano what had 
passed, he urged him to follow his uncle’s advice, saying, 
that he would consider F. Fiorillo’s decision as the voice of 
God. Alphonsus had never seen F. Fiorillo, but soon 
after, he met him one day at his uncle’s; the moment F. 
Fiorillo saw him, he exclaimed, as it were, by inspi¬ 
ration : “God is not yet satisfied with you; He wishes 
you to be altogether Iiis, and expects great things from 
you.” Alphonsus took him aside, and told him of his 
desire to consult him, and a time and place of meeting 
was agreed upon. 

He now began to perform the most severe penances, 
praying continually that the Father of lights would en¬ 
lighten His servant F. Fiorillo, on whose decision the 
affair seemed to depend. He recommended himself to 
the prayers of many holy persons, but above all to the 
nun at the monastery of Scala. All the convent joined 
with her; they prayed, they fasted, they gave themselves 
the discipline for half an hour each day ; all united to be¬ 
seech God to enlighten his directors. A singular fact now 
occurred: several of the nuns, yielding to the opinion of 
some ill-disposed persons, believed that God would not 
establish the Congregation. One day, while they were 
disputing about it with the nun who had had the revelation, 
she cried out in an ecstatic transport, “God wills this work, 
and you will see it accomplished!” “ Yes,” replied a nun 
more incredulous than the others, “I will believe it when 
Sister Mary Magdalene is cured.” This sister had been 
deranged for several years, but from that moment she per¬ 
fectly recovered her senses. 

When Alphonsus had made known all to F. Fiorillo, 
the man of God replied: “In a similar conjuncture, St. 
Lewis Bertrand asked six months from St. Theresa to 
reflect, before giving an answer; I would ask the same 
from you.” “Not six months only,” said Alphonsus, 
6 


62 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


“ take a whole year.” Some days after, he met him again, 
when the venerable Father embraced him with joy, saying, 
“Go, take courage, this work is divine; throw yourself into 
the arms of God, as a stone which falls from the mountain 
in the valley. You will encounter contradictions, doubtless, 
but place your confidence in God, He will help you.” At 
this time, however, F. Fiorillo had many good works on 
hand, and fearing to scandalize the clergy, who might 
overturn them, he begged Alphonsus to conceal his appro¬ 
bation, and not to visit him again. Satisfied now that he 
was acting according to the will of God, he feared no 
farther contradiction, and began in earnest to look about 
for companions. 

In the meanwhile the Missionaries of the Propaganda 
blamed him every where, and would not bear to hear him 
spoken of as one of them. The Canons Torni and Gizzio 
were extremely annoyed by the slur which Alphonsus’ 
project seemed to cast upon the Propaganda. They hoped 
that F. Fiorillo would never approve of it, and that at last 
F. Pagano himself would oppose it. Meeting Alphonsus 
one day, and finding him unaltered in his views, they 
attacked him more violently than ever. Alphonsus meekly 
replied : “Say what you will, uncle; I assure you I am not 
acting in consequence of such visions, but am ruled by the 
word of God, and guided by those on whom I ought to 
rely.” In circumstances such as these, his embarrassment 
was great; he was bound not to betray F. Fiorillo, who was 
then absent from Naples; and on the other hand, the as¬ 
tonishment and scandal augmented every day. F. Pagano 
advised him not to keep the secret any longer; so also did 
the Bishop of Cassano, and Mgr. Amato, Bishop of Ischia, 
whom he consulted on the subject. When he came to see 
the two Canons, hardly had he entered the house, when 
they attacked him again. “Are you not ashamed of your¬ 
self, scandalizing all Naples by your obstinacy, and acting 
in opposition to F. Fiorillo ? How can your conscience 
permit such a thing ?” Then Alphonsus calmly, but firmly, 
replied: “ You are deceived in supposing that I act con- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


63 


trary to the advice of F. Fiorillo; my conduct is the result 
of the counsels he has given me.” He had provided him¬ 
self with a copy of the letter Fiorillo had written to him on 
the subject, and as he ceased speaking, he placed it in his 
uncle’s hands. Great was the confusion of both Gizzio 
and Torni. “But this is not sufficient,” said Torni, “I 
would see the original.” Alphonsus gave it to him. “Now,” 
said he, holding it in his hand, “I want no other testi¬ 
mony ; this is sufficient for the honor of my Congregation.” 

After this, Alphonsus expected to have peace, as he 
could no longer be blamed for acting contrary to the 
opinion of wise directors; but the enemy of mankind 
would not yield without a farther struggle. His brothers 
of the Propaganda refused to be reconciled with him, and 
threatened to turn him out of their Congregation. But 
Cardinal Pignatelli, although he had been prejudiced 
against Alphonsus, no sooner discovered the truth, than he 
warned the Canon Torni to beware how he took any steps 
against Alphonsus de Liguori. F. Ripa, on the other hand, 
although now persuaded that he acted in accordance with 
the advice of F. Fiorillo, ceased not to accuse him of vi¬ 
sionary schemes. He believed himself justified in opposing 
plans which woujd remove him from Naples, where he was 
certain to be most useful, and above all, useful to the Chi¬ 
nese College; besides, some of his most distinguished 
subjects were inclined to follow Alphonsus. He quarrelled 
with F. Pagano and F. Fiorillo, and wrote a very bitter 
letter to Mgr. Falcoja, whose reply is too admirable to be 
omitted here: 

.“You know,” he wrote, “that it does not 

belong to a spiritual Father to give his penitents any voca¬ 
tion which may happen to please himself; this gift belongs 
only to that divine Providence, who has many niches in 
Paradise for the statues He fashions upon earth, and on 
earth He establishes different studios, and is daily open¬ 
ing new ones, where those rational statues are to be 
moulded to perfection according to His most holy will, 
that they may be prepared for their position in everlasting 



64 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


glory. ... It is not the province of a spiritual Father, to 
do any thing else than to approve or disapprove. When a 
soul is faithful to God and His holy words, ‘ He who 
heareth you, heareth me,’ we may believe that she cannot 
go astray. You may argue that a spiritual Father can be 
deceived ; but I would reply that God, who is always 
faithful, will not fail to make known His will to those 
whom He has appointed to enlighten others; for if it were 
not so, what assurance could we have in deciding on what 
was God’s will? Now, inasmuch as Alphonsus has fol¬ 
lowed this rule, he cannot go astray. I see from your 
letter, that you judge and condemn me, as one who would 
overthrow your Congregation, and ruin a valuable work 
which owes all to your labors: but fear not. Is the arm 
of the Lord shortened ? Is He not able to sustain your 
Congregation and many others at the same time ? Let 
God perform His own work; for a work which comes from 
Him may aid, but cannot destroy, another equally divine. 
But this enterprise, you say, will dissipate itself; if you say 
true, then you lose nothing; but according to my view of 
the case, this enterprise comes from God, and it cannot 
perish, if he, who is charged with it, continue faithful; 
those therefore, who oppose it, set themselves in opposition 
to the will of God. 

“But you say, this new work will take away some of 
your most valuable subjects. I wish, my dear Father, you 
would put a little more confidence in God, and less in man. 
The Congregation of Pious Workers had scarcely been es¬ 
tablished, when four of their most excellent members left 
them, and founded four different Congregations. Not- 
withstanding, the venerable Fathers, Charles Carafa and 
Anthony de Colellis, were not annoyed by fearing that 
their Congregation would be ruined; the contrary hap¬ 
pened, it increased more and more by the arrival of other 
men, whom the Father of the family sent to replace those 
who had left. Be persuaded, that the work of Alphonsus 
is no suggestion of the devil, but on the contrary, that the 
devil opposes it as the will of God, as he has done on a 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


65 


thousand other occasions, when he foresaw that an insti¬ 
tution would have the effect of destroying his empire in 
the world.” 

It seems incredible, yet it is true, this letter produced no 
effect on F. Ripa, who continued to blame Alphonsus for 
his inconstancy, and even in his Memoirs of his Congre¬ 
gation, complains bitterly of him and all who had any hand 
in approving or forwarding his projects. 

When the Fathers Fiorillo and Pagano saw that the 
tempest, instead of abating, rather increased, they began to 
fear for the success of their own immediate affairs, if they 
continued to bear the blame of giving counsel to Al¬ 
phonsus. They therefore strongly urged him to put him¬ 
self entirely under the direction of Mgr. Falcoja, a man of 
undoubted wisdom and sanctity, and held in great consi¬ 
deration by all Naples. The feast of the Assumption ap¬ 
proaching, Alphonsus resolved to apply for aid to his 
blessed Mother, and made the Novena of the feast in the 
church so dear to him, the church of the Redemption of 
Captives, where her statue was exposed during those nine 
days. The divine Mother listened to her favorite child, and 
enlightened him regarding the course he ought to pursue* 
He placed himself in the hands of the holy prelate, pro¬ 
mising to do nothing without his advice, and never w r as a 
child more obedient to a parent. 

The Canon Torni came also back to the charge, as he 
could not bear the idea of Alphonsus’ services being lost 
to Naples. Having no hope of directly succeeding in 
opposing him, he began an indirect attack, in his quality of 
Superior of the Congregation of the Propaganda. He 
gave him the charge of seyeral important matters, trusting 
that, when he saw the good he was doing in Naples, he 
would give up the idea of going elsewhere. In the be 
ginning of October he commanded him, in the name of the 
Cardinal, to give a retreat to the clergy of Naples. He 
obeyed his Superior, notwithstanding his repugnance to 
appear before those, many of whom had treated him so 
unjustly, and God poured out His benedictions on his 
6 * 


66 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


labors more abundantly than ever. The Cardinal himself 
attended, and was so moved, that he exclaimed, “ We may 
easily see he is a vessel of election, for the Holy Spirit 
speaks by his mouth.” After this retreat, he was sent suc¬ 
cessively to three other churches to give Missions, when, as 
before, multitudes from all quarters flocked to hear him, 
and crowded round the confessionals. But notwithstand¬ 
ing all this abundant harvest, Alphonsus was longing for 
the moment when the arrangements would be completed 
for him to commence his new Congregation. Mgr. Fal- 
coja, however, seeing that the storm still continued to 
rage, wished to put his constancy to farther proof, and de¬ 
layed to give him his parting benediction; but those days 
of delay seemed ages to Alphonsus. 

Many were the contradictions and annoyances he ex¬ 
perienced during the last days he remained, particularly 
from F. Ripa and his uncle Gizzio. Because they loved 
him, they thought they had a right, forcibly to withdraw him 
from an enterprise they considered extravagant. God, in 
his impenetrable Providence, sometimes permits his ser¬ 
vants to fall into similar mistakes; it may be, to keep 
them humble, and as a means of advancing the sanctity of 
both parties. In after time, those who had opposed him 
now, lauded his enterprise, when they saw the blessings of 
heaven accompanying his work. 

In spite of the outcry made against Alphonsus by many 
influential individuals, there was still a number of zealous 
priests who declared their willingness to accompany him 
on his arduous mission. One of his first companions was 
D. Vincent Mandarini, a noble Calabrian. He was, like 
Alphonsus, a pensioner in the Chinese College, and an 
•excellent theologian. The second was Don Janvier Sar- 
uelli, son of the Baron of Ciorani, also one of the Chi¬ 
nese College, of great talents, both natural and acquired, 
besides being a man of eminent virtue. The third was D. 
Silvester Tosquez, a gentleman of the town ofTroja, still a 
secular, and a great friend of Mandarini; he was an ex¬ 
cellent man, and well versed in jurisprudence and theology. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


67 


His other companions were men equally estimable and en¬ 
lightened, seven in number. Mazzini would have joined 
him at first, had not his director insisted on his delaying, in 
order to prove his vocation. A gentleman named Vitus 
Curzius, whose vocation was evidently miraculous, was the 
first who joined him in quality of lay-brother. He had 
been secretary to the Baron of Vasto, and was very inti¬ 
mate with Sportelli, one of the companions of Alphon- 
sus, still a secular. Sportelli had not communicated 
to him his design of quitting the world, when one day 
Curzius told him a dream he had had the previous night. 
“ I thought,” said he, “ that I stood at the foot of a high 
and steep mountain, which many priests were trying to 
ascend. I wished to imitate them, but at the first step I 
took, I fell backward. Not willing to give up the attempt, I 
tried to mount several times, but to my great annoyance, I 
always slid back, until one of the priests, taking compas¬ 
sion on me, gave me his hand and helped me to ascend.” 
In the course of the day, as they were walking together 
near the Chinese College, they met Alphonsus, when Cur¬ 
zius, who had never before seen him, turned in astonish¬ 
ment to Sportelli, exclaiming, “There is the priest who gave 
me his hand last night.” Sportelli saw the mystery of the 
dream, and told him that this was Alphonsus Liguori, w ho 
was about to found a new Congregation of missionary 
priests, and mentioned his own intention to join him. 
The young man instantly recognized the divine will, and 
unhesitatingly declared, that he wished to be of the num¬ 
ber, as a lay-brother. 


68 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


CHAPTER VII. 

Alphonsus establishes his Congregation at Scala. It un¬ 
dergoes a severe trial . 

A FTER having received the benediction of the Fathers 
Pagano and Fiorillo, Alphonsus, without acquainting 
either friends or relations, hired a miserable donkey, and 
departed from Naples on the 8th of November, 1732, di¬ 
recting his steps towards the town of Scala. The day on 
which he left Naples, he completed two sacrifices ; the de¬ 
finitive renunciation of all the splendors of the world, and 
the entire disruption of the ties of flesh and blood. This 
last completed the numerous sacrifices he had already 
made. Since the month of August, he had quitted the Chi¬ 
nese College, and returned to his father’s house, for the 
better arranging of his affairs. D. Joseph, who loved him 
less as a son than as a spiritual father, was miserable at the 
thought of losing him, and one day he entered his room, 
when he had laid down to take a little repose, and throwing 
himself on the bed beside him, pressed him in his arms and 
exclaimed: “My son, why will you abandon me? My 
son, I do not deserve that you should cause me so much 
misery.” Taken by surprise, Alphonsus suffered most 
intensely, and this scene lasted during three hours, his 
father holding him in a close embrace, repeating always, 
“ My son, do not abandon me.” He afterwards spoke of 
this trial, as the most terrible he had ever had to endure. 

On arriving at Scala, he was joined by only eight of his 
companions; Sarnelli and Tosquez were obliged, from 
certain circumstances, to delay. The dwelling prepared 
by the Bishop, Mgr. Santoro, accorded in every respect 
with their wishes—it was an hospice belonging to a con¬ 
vent, almost destitute of furniture, small and inconvenient; 
besides a small oratory, there were only a parlor, and three 
little rooms containing palliasses and scanty coverings, 
with a few earthen dishes for the table and the kitchen. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHOxNSUS. 


69 


The day after their arrival, they assembled in the Cathedral, 
and after a long meditation, chanted the mass of the Holy 
Spirit, thanking God for the establishment of a Congrega¬ 
tion so ardently desired, and asking for His benediction 
upon the work. They gave it the name of “The Holy 
Saviour,” placing it under the protection of the Chief of all 
Missionaries. They now applied themselves sincerely to 
prayer and penitence; their hearts overflowing with love to 
God, they embraced every opportunity of mortifying them¬ 
selves; they wore sack-cloth, and small chains with sharp 
points. But it was at the hours of repast, those hours 
when the world seeks after sensual enjoyments, that these 
holy men signalized their love of mortification. Some 
kissed the ground ; others knelt, and remained for a length 
of time with their arms extended in form of a cross, be¬ 
fore eating; another made the round of the refectory, 
kissing the feet of each of his brethren. They ate kneel¬ 
ing, or sitting on the floor, while others, to make the mo¬ 
ments of eating still more uncomfortable, hung a heavy 
stone round their neck. Their poor and scanty food they 
seasoned with bitter herbs; many would not taste meat, or 
abstained from fruit. Their food was of such a quality that 
the poor hesitated to accept what they left. Vitus Curzius 
was cook, and as he knew nothing of cookery, he spoiled 
every thing he attempted to prepare. 

Such was the life these missionaries led at Scala. As for 
Alphonsus, he occupied himself with God only, “instant in 
prayer,” reading the Lives of the Saints, or laboring to save 
souls. His application was constant; and besides Mass with 
a long thanksgiving, and the general prayers of the commu¬ 
nity, he spent hours in adoration before the Blessed Sacra¬ 
ment. He carried his austerities to such an excess, that the 
utmost the others could do, seemed as it were nothing. He 
sometimes seasoned his food with such herbs, that those 
who were near him could hardly endure the smell; and not 
content with wearing sack-cloth, chains, and crosses armed 
with sharp points, he gave himself the discipline twice a 
day. The care he bestowed on his own perfection and 


70 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


that of his companions, did not hinder him from attending 
to the people of Scala. He introduced the custom of 
giving a meditation in the Cathedral, every morning, and 
making visits to the Blessed Sacrament and the Virgin 
Mary, every evening. Every Thursday, he gave a sermon 
with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, and every Sa¬ 
turday, he preached on the glories of Mary. On Sundays 
and feast days, he instructed the people on their individual 
duties, and catechized them. He established two Confra¬ 
ternities, one for gentlemen and another for artisans, and 
two others for the young people of both sexes; and every 
Sunday, each of these Confraternities received a particular 
instruction. Scala was in a short time thoroughly reformed, 
to the great satisfaction of Mgr. Santoro. Seeing himself 
so well seconded by the zeal of his companions, Alphonsus 
gave missions to the different towns and villages round 
about, so that the renown of the new Congregation began 
to spread every where, and bishops were constantly be¬ 
seeching their assistance for their flocks, while many even 
offered them establishments in their diocesses. 

The Fathers of the Propaganda, instead of becoming 
reconciled to the step taken by Alphonsus, showed them¬ 
selves more and more embittered against him, continuing 
to load him with contempt and ridicule. Their conduct 
deeply wounded Alphonsus, and he was grieved to see 
pious and zealous servants of God partaking in all the pre¬ 
judices of the world, and rather exciting than preventing 
them. Persuaded that honor and purity, with rectitude of 
judgment, are the true riches of a minister of God, and 
seeing his ancient brethren striving to despoil him of them, 
he complained in a letter to the Canon Torni, who sent 
him a reply full of the most friendly assurances. 

But the peace he had found in the friendly behaviour of 
Torni, was soon attacked, by the renewed violence of the 
other members. They clamored against Torni, and in¬ 
sisted, that he should expel Alphonsus, and deprive him of 
the chaplainship. He was forced to yield, and on the 20th 
of February, 1732, to the great joy of all, they affixed to the 

I 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


71 


door this announcement: “According to the order of our 
Superior, on the 23d instant there will be a general investi¬ 
gation on the following questions: Whether the brother 
D. Alphonsus de Liguori should be expelled from the Con¬ 
gregation ? And whether he ought to be deprived of his 
chaplainship?” Torni had yielded, only to prevent the 
vexatious proceedings going farther, and secretly informed 
the Cardinal of what was about to be done, expressing his 
opinion of its injustice. The Cardinal was exceedingly 
vexed, but he would not hinder the convocation. “Let 
them deliberate,” he said, “but fear nothing; I will pro¬ 
vide for the result, and settle every thing in the most expe¬ 
dient way.” The Congregation assembled on the ap¬ 
pointed day, animated with incredible rancor. In order to 
prevent any interference in his favor, they proceeded se- ' 
cretly with the scrutiny, and his expulsion was unani¬ 
mously decided upon. But they could not register this de¬ 
cree, the Cardinal having forbidden any steps to be taken 
against Alphonsus, without his knowledge. The Superior 
and some of the principal members went to the Cardinal, 
to tell him what had been done. His Eminence was much 
displeased. “ Why,” said he, “ do you proceed to such 
extremities? either God will bless the enterprise of Al¬ 
phonsus, and it will prove a glorious thing for you, or He 
will overthrow it, and then all that could be said would be, 
that it was a good work, though it had proved unsuccessful. 
In any case, I do not see how you can find dishonor in it.” 
He concluded by saying, “I am Superior of this Congre¬ 
gation, and I desire that Alphonsus de Liguori be rein¬ 
stated, and that he continue to enjoy his chaplainship; and 
I forbid any steps being taken against him, unknown to 
me.” This firm conduct arrested the flame, but did not 
extinguish it. The deputies retired, silenced and discon¬ 
certed, but still determined never to recognise him as a 
member of their Congregration. 

The storm was thus subsiding in Naples, and Alphonsus 
was living in Scala, in profound peace, when God wished 
to try his servant still more severely, by permitting discord 


72 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


to arise in the bosom of the new-born Congregation itself. 
Alphonsus wished that the new Congregation should be 
occupied only in laboring to promote the sanctification of 
clergy and laity, giving them spiritual exercises in convents, 
and procuring also the salvation of destitute souls, particu¬ 
larly in the country and small hamlets, by means of mis¬ 
sions. Mandarini proposed that, besides the missions, 
they should occupy themselves in teaching; but Alphonsus 
opposed this, because the Jesuits and other religious- 
orders supplied this want. He added, that the spirit of 
the Institute finding itself divided between two objects so 
different as teaching and giving missions, both would be 
fulfilled in an imperfect manner, since there would be too 
few laborers to undertake both branches. The others had 
each his individual opinion, and D. Tosquez, going still 
farther, insisted, that, as the end of the institution was to 
imitate Jesus Christ, it was necessary to be dressed in a 
dark red cassock and a mantle of celestial blue, as these 
were the colors our Saviour is said to have worn. Some 
disliked the recitation of the office in common; others ob¬ 
jected to sleep on straw, as also to other austerities to 
which they would not submit. They disliked practising 
poverty in all its rigor, and the perfection which commu¬ 
nity life exacted, yet it was to community life that Al¬ 
phonsus principally held. Tosquez went into a contrary 
excess, and would embrace the reform of the most austere 
mendicant order, insisting that each should sell every thing 
he possessed, and lay the price of it at the fe*et of his 
Superior. 

Alphonsus approved of establishing a choir, though 
without chant, as being a good means of reciting the office 
well. He insisted on the vow of poverty, because without 
it the spirit of Christ would be wanting, and it would be 
impossible to observe the common life, which is the 
mother of poverty. “If,” said he, “the words mine and 
thine are found among the brethren, great inconvenience 
will result; they will go on the mission not for God, not to 
gain souls to Christ, but for emolument and for them- 


LIFE OF 6T. ALPHONSUS. 


73 


selves;” all these opposing sentiments could not fail to dis¬ 
turb his serenity; he spoke, he supplicated, in vain; they 
shut their ears to all he said. Fearing a total shipwreck, 
he had recourse to prayer, while at the same time he 
neglected no human means. He consulted Mgr. Falcoja, 
F. Pagano, and the Canon Torni, who all looked upon it 
as a stratagem of the devil. They decidedly opposed 
Mandarini’s plan of teaching, notwithstanding which, all 
the others joined him in sustaining this point. These dis¬ 
cussions lasted long. Mandarini persisted in his scheme 
for teaching, and thought Alphonsus ought to yield, be¬ 
cause the others were of his opinion. He remained firm, 
however, and at length all left him but Sportelli, and 
founded a house at Tramonti; where they opened schools 
for youth, and formed a separate Congregation called of 
the Most Holy Sacrament. 

This separation is supposed to have taken place about 
the month of March of the year 1733, four months after 
they had met at Scala. Although Alphonsus thus saw 
himself abandoned and almost alone, he placed his confi¬ 
dence in God only, and the result proved the wisdom o* 
acting thus. Though he had endured the blow caused by 
these divisions with all the strength of a soul which rests 
on God, he did not the less feel a bitter sorrow'. God sus¬ 
tained him on the one hand, but on the other, the devil as¬ 
sailed him with suggestions full of despair. He stood bal¬ 
ancing betw'een a confidence in God, which never deserted 
him, and* a diffidence in himself, w'hich bowed him to the 
earth. In the midst of his affliction, he thought of Mgr. 
Falcoja. He sought him at Castellamare, certain of find¬ 
ing strength and consolation, and trusting with his assist¬ 
ance to weather the storm; but God w r ould not give him 
this comfort: he found the bishop disgusted with the whole 
affair, and was received with marked coldness. Before 
he had time to explain the object of his visit, the bishop 
addressed him in these words: “ Vultis et vos abire—God 
has no need of you and your companions; if it be His 
will that this work should go on, He will raise up other 
7 


74 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


laborers to fill your place.” For a moment, Alphonsus 
stood stupefied by this reception, so* different from what he 
had expected ; but immediately regaining courage, he said : 
“My Lord, I am well convinced that the Almighty has 
no need of me, or of my labors; notwithstanding, I be¬ 
lieve it to be His will that I should proceed in this work, 
and singly and alone as T am, I shall yet succeed.” He 
continued: “I have not left Naples, I have not renounced 
the world, to gain the glory of founding a new order, but 
to do the will of God and promote His glory.” This reply 
touched Mgr. Falcoja deeply, who, suddenly changing his 
manner, said: “ Put your confidence in God, and he will 
certainly bless your good intentions.” 

On the whole, he returned to Scala much comforted by 
this interview ; but the devil would not leave him in peace. 
D. Sportelii was often necessarily absent, and when Al¬ 
phonsus found himself alone on this desert mountain, dis¬ 
gust, anxiety, and depression, assailed him more strongly 
than ever. He knew whence those temptations came, and 
one day when they were at their height, he threw himself 
on his knees, and solemnly vowed to consecrate himself 
irrevocably to the salvation of destitute souls, even if he 
should remain altogether alone. God evidently blessed 
this heroic action; from that moment his fears and anxie¬ 
ties vanished, and he felt himself filled with courage, hope, 
and consolation. Even in his old age, he could not re¬ 
member, without a shudder, the terrible struggle he had 
then sustained ; and he said to F. Dominic Corsano, his 
director, that this, and his separation from his father, were 
the two most dreadful trials he had ever undergone. 

He had also, not without reason, dreaded the effect this 
rupture would produce in Naples. No sooner was it 
known that the new founder was abandoned by his com¬ 
panions, and that the society was dissolved, than every one 
laughed at and ridiculed the whole proceeding, condemn¬ 
ing the fanaticism of the pretended head of the Congre¬ 
gation, who had blindly lent himself to the dreaming 
fancies of a woman. They went the length of affirming, 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


75 


that the Pope himself had interfered, and forbidden the es¬ 
tablishment of such a Congregation. Even the pulpits 
resounded with anathemas; the preachers pretending to 
show, by these events, to what an extent even the most 
favored individuals can go astray, when they allow them¬ 
selves to be caught in the snare of the devil, and to forget 
the precepts of humility. At this crisis, even his friends 
were silenced by their own share of the contempt and 
mockery which they received. F. Fiorillo alone saw that 
all this was the work of the devil, and continued to be 
convinced that God would uphold his own work. Cardi¬ 
nal Pignatelli pitied Alphonsus, but did not condemn him. 
“ There was nothing reprehensible in it,” he said, “but 
who can know the judgments of God?” and touched by 
the embarrassment in which Alphonsus found himself, he 
desired the Canon Torni to recall him to Naples. 

Every one can imagine the reception Alphonsus had to 
expect in this city, and how much it must have cost him 
to return at such a moment. On all sides he saw himself 
condemned and turned into ridicule. The Canon Gizzio 
refused to see him or hear his name mentioned. F. Ripa 
would have nothing to do with him, and it was the same 
with many others, who had once held him in the highest 
esteem. He went to the Cardinal, accompanied by the 
Canon Torni. This wise prelate was afflicted to hear of 
the number of lies that had been circulated against him. 
The Canon, who wished to retain Alphonsus at Naples, re¬ 
marked, that if this work had been pleasing to God, He 
would not have withdrawn the means of carrying it into 
execution; and that surely he could be more useful at 
Naples, than elsewhere. But Alphonsus replied with 
entire confidence: “We have reason to be convinced that 
the devil is the author of what has happened at Scala; but 
it must not be said that I have allowed myself to be con¬ 
quered, because the demon has come across my path. If 
my first companions have deserted me, that is no reason 
why other zealous priests should not be found; but be that 
as it may, I do not hesitate, even alone, to sacrifice myself 
for the good of the destitute souls scattered •through the 


76 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS* 


Tillages and hamlets of this kingdom.” The Cardinal 
could not help admiring the heroism of this speech, and 
turning towards the Canon, he said: “ It will not do to 
abandon Scala just yet; let us have recourse to God in 
order to know His holy will.” Then encouraging Alphonsus, 
he continued: “Trust in God, put no confidence in man, 
for it is God who will help you.” He approved his con¬ 
stancy, and advised him against a reunion with those who 
had separated themselves from him. 

Consoled by the sentiments of the Cardinal, Alphonsus 
returned to Scala full of hope and confidence, while the 
opinions expressed by his Eminence disconcerted those 
who railed against him, and reduced them to silence. At 
Scala their number consisted of three, D. Sportelli, who 
was still a layman, Vitus Curzius, the lay-brother, and 
himself. In this solitude, Alphonsus reposed in the bosom 
of God, and he soon had the consolation of seeing his 
convent frequented by new subjects, who aspired to enter 
the Congregation. Rejoicing to find his hopes realized, 
he wrote to a friend, in July, 1733, thus: “Our novices 
think neither of country nor friends, nor even of suffer¬ 
ing; all their desire is to love God and perfectly to con¬ 
form themselves to His will.” 

About this time, they quitted the hospice for a house 
called Anastasius, but equally poor with the first. One 
who saw it, describes it as follows: “ There was one small 
parlor, in which Alphonsus had made an oratory, and 
erected a crucifix so beautifully carved, that it drew tears 
from the eyes. The bishop had arranged for the church a 
square apartment under ground, which looked more like a 
burial vault than a chapel. Poverty reigned every where 
in the house and in the church ; they had not even a ta¬ 
bernacle for the Blessed Sacrament, and Alphonsus placed 
it in a box ornamented with ribbons and silk drapery. The 
altar was also poor, but they embellished it as well as they 
could with roses and bouquets of artificial flowers. Al¬ 
phonsus and his companions passed the greater part of 
the night there, taking a little repose on the bare earth, 
before the Blessed Sacrament.” 


LIFE OF ST. AXPHONSUS. 


77 


CHAPTER VIII. 

Alphonsus gives Missions and founds the Houses at the Villa 
dei Schiavi and at Ciorani. He abandons the forme?'. 

A FTER Mandarini and his companions had quitted 
Scala, the spirit of penance and prayer reigned there 
as before ; all breathed self-denial and mortification, each 
one feeling himself impelled to imitate Alphonsus, who, as 
usual, signalized himself among the others. At the side 
of the house was a half ruined grotto, where every day he 
submitted his body to the most rigorous penances. There 
is a tradition among the inhabitants, that while he was in 
it chastising his body, the Blessed Virgin appeared to 
him, and bestowed upon him many special favors. When¬ 
ever he returned to visit Scala, he went to see his beloved 
grotto, exclaiming: “O my grotto, my beloved grotto, 
why can I not enjoy thee now as in times long past!” 

Four months had scarcely elapsed since the departure of 
Mandarini, when Alphonsus found himself in a position 
to give missions in the neighboring dioceses until the 
Christmas of that year. In the mean time, he had been 
joined by the priest Sarnelli, of Ciorani, and in January fol¬ 
lowing, he yielded to his pressing solicitation, and accom¬ 
panied him to the territory of Ciorani. The inhabitants of 
this country never lost the remembrance of this first visit. 
They spent but a few days there, being called by the 
Bishop of Cajazzo to give a mission in his diocese. The 
general reformation in manners which followed, excited 
the most ardent longing for their establishing a house there, 
but they were not yet sufficiently numerous. At Formi- 
cola, in the principality of Columbano, was a bouse with a 
church adjoining, extremely well suited for the Congrega¬ 
tion. Xavier Rossi, a young nobleman, who had received 
priest’s orders, was most anxious, among others, to see them 
established in it. He exerted himself to the utmost, sent 
for an architect to arrange for the necessary alterations and 
7 * 


78 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


repairs, and soon the work was begun at his own ex¬ 
pense. He afterwards, led by a sudden movement of 
grace, when one morning he served the mass of Alphonsus, 
and saw in him at the altar, not a man, but a seraph, felt 
impelled, in spite of himself, to follow him. Alphonsus 
would prove his sincerity by delay; but he gave so many 
proofs of strong determination, that he soon admitted him 
to his novitiate. He became afterwards a corner-stone in 
the new-born-Congregation, and died as a Saint, after 
having rendered the greatest services. 

This foundation exactly suited the views of Alphonsus, 
being situated on the confines of four dioceses, surrounded 
by a great number of villages, and a thickly peopled 
country. At the beginning of March, the building was so 
far advanced that they could inhabit it. Four apartments 
level with the ground, resting against the church, were 
given to the missionaries, and four chaplainships were as¬ 
signed to them, with a revenue from each, of one carlino a 
day, that is, about nine cents of our money. This was cer¬ 
tainly but little with which to found an establishment of 
missionaries; but Alphonsus looked out only for souls, 
and contented himself with a small and poor house, dis¬ 
tinguished from others only by a belfry, after the example 
of St. Theresa, whom he loved to imitate. No sooner was 
the house established, than he undertook different good 
works to promote the salvation of the people in the neigh¬ 
borhood, and gave frequent missions. While the building 
continued to go on, the people eagerly assisted in the 
work, and even some of the neighboring nobles might be 
seen mingling with the others in carrying materials. Al¬ 
phonsus was the first to set the example, laboring like a 
simple workman, and when the gentlemen insisted on his 
stopping, he replied: “This is nothing, I wish to have my 
share of merit with the others.” It happened one day, that 
a poor woman was carrying a large stone, when another 
equally large fell from the building upon her head ; every 
one thought that the blow was mortal, but Alphonsus, 
who saw the accident from a distance, entered the church, 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 79 

and addressed himself to the Blessed Virgin : his prayer 
was heard, the woman rose up unhurt. 

Alphonsus remained until the month of August, and 
here he had the happiness of receiving John Mazzini, who 
had so long been wishing to join him. Such was his 
opinion of this Father’s virtue and wisdom, that he imme¬ 
diately made him rector of the new house. At the same 
time, a talented and promising subject was, though yet a 
cleric, taken from him by violence. Michael d’Alteriis, 
of Panecocoli, near Naples, had retired into the Congrega¬ 
tion without the consent of his father, who was so much 
irritated at this, that he sent armed men to the house of the 
missionaries, to take his son away by force. Alphonsus, 
persuaded of the divine vocation of the young man, saved 
him from their hands by sending him away during the 
night. His father and other relatives were so full of resent- 
ment at this, and made such a noise, that the Cardinal, to 
prevent worse consequences, counselled Alphonsus to send 
the young man back to his family. Alphonsus obeyed, 
saying: “This violence will cost them much.” And in 
fact, scarcely had Michael returned, when his eldest brother 
became sick and died. The unhappy father recognized in 
this the hand of God, and said: “ I have taken one from 
God, and God has now taken the other from me.” God 
however, blessed Michael, who in leaving had but obeyed 
his director. He returned to the Congregation afterwards, 
and after having labored in it zealously and indefatigably, 
he died in the odor of sanctity. 

The life which Alphonsus led with his brethren in this 
new house, “The Villa dei Schiavi,” was equally admirable 
with the life he had led at Scala. An eye-witness reports, 
that every day he ate on his knees, with a heavy stone hung 
round his neck; his food usually consisted of a simple 
pottage, seasoned with bitter herbs, he never drank wine : 
besides taking the discipline in common, he took it pri¬ 
vately every day, and the walls of his room were covered 
with blood ; the hair cloth he wore was so heavy, that he 
could hardly walk ; his sleep was short, a stone served him 


80 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


as a pillow, and his straw mattress was so thin, that he 
might be said to sleep on boards. His humility was extra¬ 
ordinary, before and after meals, he kissed the feet of all; 
he never used a razor, but cut his beard with a pair of 
scissors; his cassock was so worn and mended, that the 
original form could hardly be recognized; he never went 
on horseback, but always on foot or on a mule, which he 
said was good enough for him. A profound silence was 
generally observed in the house, and the hour of recrea¬ 
tion after their frugal meal, was still an uninterrupted con¬ 
ference on spiritual subjects. Such was the mode of life 
led by Alphonsus and his companions, and, besides the 
three meditations which they made every day, he was con¬ 
tinually in prayer, and spoke only when it was absolutely 
necessary. When their new foundation was sufficiently 
consolidated, Alphonsus returned to Scala. The good that 
had been done during his absence by Doctor, now Father, 
Sportelli, gave him great consolation, which was increased 
by finding many candidates for the novitiate, awaiting him 
with impatience. In the course of the autumn, he gave 
several missions in the neighborhood and elsewhere. In 
January, 1735, he returned to the territory of Cajazzo, visit¬ 
ing the house of the Villa dei Schiavi, where he remained 
some time. At the request of Mgr. Santoro, he consented, 
rather unwillingly, to preach the Lent in the Cathedral of 
Scala, when he also gave a retreat in the parish of St. 
Catherine, and another to the nuns of St. Cataldo. 

At this time, the Curate of the territory of Ciorani, hav¬ 
ing learned the good that was done in the neighboring 
parishes, both he and his flock desired ardently to see a 
house of the missionaries established among them. No 
one entered more into the spirit of this plan than the 
brother of F. Sarnelli, D. Andrew. He persuaded the 
Baron, his father, of the immense advantages that would 
result, and set himself about to procure the means of car¬ 
rying it into execution, and by the month of April, he had 
received a sufficient rent for their maintenance. After an 
agreement was made with the Archbishop of Salerno, Al- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


81 


phonsus, with Fathers Mazzini and Rossi, came to Ciorani 
in the month of May, 1735. Four miserable donkeys 
formed their equipage, but an immense concourse of 
people awaited them at the entrance into the barony, with 
the Curate and his clerics. Arrived at the parochial church, 
at the sight of such a multitude, Alphonsus mounted the 
pulpit, and taking for the subject of his discourse the mo¬ 
tive of his coming—the salvation of their souls—he 
preached with such powerful effect, that every heart was 
penetrated with compunction. On the evening of the 
next day, he opened the mission. The people ran thither 
in such crowds, that the church, though spacious, could 
not contain them. At the sight of Alphonsus, so poor, 
so humble, so full of the spirit of God, no one could resist 
him ; the hearts of all, even of the most abandoned, were 
touched, and the conversions were innumerable. 

The habitation which the Baron had given the mission¬ 
aries, besides a sort of cellar, which served for a kitchen, 
consisted only of two large rooms. After a while he gave 
them two other apartments, but in passing from the one to 
the other, they were obliged to cross an open court, which 
was a great inconvenience, particularly in winter; besides, 
these places had only planks for the exterior wall, through 
the chinks of which the cold wind entered. In addition 
to these annoyances, they were situated above a public 
house and a prison, a neighborhood not exactly suited for 
men of prayer and retirement. In one of these rooms, 
Alphonsus erected a small oratory, reserving the three 
others for their own use. The furniture of the whole was 
miserable enough, and, so far from having superfluities, 
absolute necessaries were wanting. He and his compa¬ 
nions rejoiced in these discomforts, their oratory being for 
them a little heaven. It was there, during the night, oftener 
than during the day, that Alphonsus poured out his soul 
into the bosom of God. After the missions, they estab¬ 
lished the same pious practices and confraternities as at 
Scala and Villa dei Schiavi. The exercises were made in 
the parochial church, but the concourse of people being 


82 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


every day as great as on feast days, the missionaries had 
scarcely time to eat or sleep. As the people came very 
early in the morning, and disturbed the poor old Curate, 
Alphonsus was at the expense of repairing the old church 
of St. Sophia, annexed to the signorial palace, and met 
the people there. As all the inhabitants of the neighbor¬ 
ing villages could not come to Ciorani, he sent mission¬ 
aries, on Sundays and feast days, to the great comfort of 
the sick and the infirm. It was not long before the barony 
was completely reformed. The inhabitants began to re¬ 
semble the first Christians. Quarrels and hatred were 
banished ; the language and behaviour of the young men 
became pure ; the young women no longer sang loose and 
profane songs, but pious canticles which Alphonsus com¬ 
posed himself. When the inhabitants met, they saluted 
each other, saying: “Praise be to Jesus and Mary.” No 
more imprecations were heard, the public house in the 
village was deserted, and all improper games were for¬ 
bidden. 

Tosquez and Mandarini now began to recognize the 
pernicious effects of their divisions. Although they had 
got the approbation of the sovereign Pontiff for their es¬ 
tablishments, they were not successful, and continually 
wrote to Alphonsus on the subject of a re-union. Having 
weighed the matter maturely, he at length wrote a definite 
answer. “It is true,” he said, “that it promises much, 
but I doubt whether these promises would ever be realized. 
First impressions are not easily effaced, and what we re¬ 
tract to-day, we recommence to-morrow, and when the 
spirit is cooled, the fairest promises are forgotten.” Above 
all, he remembered the advice of Cardinal Pignatelli 
against this re-union, and the affair was forever broken off. 

The Archbishop of Salerno, struck by the good which 
was done by the missions, and the very small expense 
necessary to lodge the missionaries, since they were con¬ 
tent with a morsel of bread and a corner in the sacristy, 
gave Alphonsus license to go where he wished, command¬ 
ing the curates, at the same time, to show them every re- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


83 


spect and attention. Notwithstanding, there were some who 
received them with an ill-grace, and even repulsed them. 
On one occasion, Alphonsus had fixed the day for giving a 
mission in a parish : on his arrival the curate met him, and 
without asking him to dismount from his ass, refused to per¬ 
mit him to give the mission ; but fearing to offend the Arch¬ 
bishop, he tried to palliate his conduct, by mentioning a future 
period when the mission might be held. Alphonsus calmly 
answered : “ Your Reverence believes the mission can be 
held at that time ; but I assure you, you will not be in a 
condition to receive me then.” The curate did not under¬ 
stand these words; but before the time appointed, although 
in the prime of life, he had paid the debt of nature. 

In consideration of the inconveniences of their habita¬ 
tion at Ciorarii, the Baron gave up to the missionaries a 
building in another part of his property, and added some 
ground for a garden. No sooner was this done, than men 
and women came from all quarters to assist. Some carried 
stones and w r ood, others constructed a furnace to make 
bricks, and the sons of the Baron, w ith the curate and 
priests, labored almost as hard as the people, and the 
building advanced as if by enchantment. 

One might say that the practice of the holy exercises w as 
brought to perfection at Ciorani; for in spite of the annoy¬ 
ances of the locality in which they dwelt, many persons, 
both priests and laymen, came to place themselves under 
the direction of Alphonsus. Many persons of quality, 
belonging to San Severino and the neighborhood, seeing 
the effect produced upon others, ardently desired to have 
a kind of mission for themselves. As the Baron Angelo 
was then in Naples, Alphonsus obtained permission to 
give the mission in the great hall of the castle, and also 
that those gentlemen who were too far distant from home, 
might remain all night. Many ecclesiastics assisted at this 
mission, and the fruits were seen in their redoubled ardor 
for the souls of men; while the gentlemen returned home 
to edify all by the reformation of their lives and manners. 
It was in this retreat that the young priest Andrew’ Villani, 


84 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


a descendant of the Dukes of Sacco della Polla, convinced 
that the world is deceitful and full of snares, took the reso¬ 
lution of quitting it, and consecrating himself to God in this 
new Congregation. He afterwards became a model of 
sanctity, and a foundation stone in the new-born Con¬ 
gregation. 

Alphonsus took every care to make the people love the 
holy exercises, and all rejoiced in the good they produced. 
Many ecclesiastics came during the year, but chiefly in 
Lent, to make retreats; and magistrates, nobles, and princes, 
came also, besides many prelates with their clerics. He 
attached the greatest importance to the holy exercises of 
a retreat, for all conditions of men, and the fruits which 
always accompany them prove his wisdom. 

While such glorious works were progressing, the devil 
could not look quietly on ; accordingly he had, even before 
the foundation was approved of, excited the jealousy of 
some neighboring curates, who, joined by some mendicant 
friars, beset the Archbishop, who began to doubt whether 
he ought not to suppress the house. But in the end they 
became quiet, and the Archbishop definitely authorized the 
foundation, on the 12th of December, 1735. By this time 
F. Sarnelli, out of an injudicious zeal, and too great an 
anxiety for the support of the Congregation, suggested to 
the Archbishop, that as so many curates profited by the 
labors of the missionaries, each should contribute a trifle to¬ 
wards their support. The parties interested keenly op¬ 
posed the measure, and not only did they look upon Al¬ 
phonsus with an evil eye, but they set themselves by all 
means to have the missionaries chased out of the territory. 
The Curate of Ciorani was asked to lend his aid, but the 
good old man replied: “What! these holy priests who 
labor incessantly in my parish, would you have me deprive 
my people of such great help?” They then reported to 
the Archbishop, that under pretence of zeal and devoted¬ 
ness, they only sought to enrich themselves at the expense 
of the legitimate pastors, and that they ought to be imme¬ 
diately expelled from the diocess. The Archbishop smiled 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


85 


at this and said : “ I know Alphonsus de Liguori; he and 
I resemble each other in reference to fortune: I know he 
has quitted the world not from necessity, but from choice, 
and that if he has any anxiety, it is not about temporal in¬ 
terests, but to gain souls and secure his own salvation;” 
and declared that he took the missionaries under his own 
immediate protection, as the work to which they had de¬ 
voted themselves was most advantageous to the souls con¬ 
fided to his care. This storm having abated, those who 
were most opposed to Alphonsus were the first to profit 
by his labors; he gave missions in the different parishes; 
and the fruits of his zeal were as abundant as ever. 

In the course of the retreats he gave about this time, a 
striking event occurred to prove how God watched over him 
and protected him. Speaking one day of the enormity of 
sin in priests, he concluded by quoting the words of St. 
John Chrysostom, “ In sacerdotio peccasti, periisti.” At 
these words, an ecclesiastic replied, to the great scandal of 
all who heard him: “Nego consequentiam.” This miser¬ 
able man soon experienced the consequence: next morn¬ 
ing, as he began at the foot of the altar the psalm, “ Judica 
me Deus,” he dropped down dead. 

In the course of the year 1737, Alphonsus, at the press¬ 
ing entreaty of the Superior of the Propaganda, who for 
fear of his refusing had addressed himself to Mgr. Falcoja, 
his director, went to Naples for the mission to be opened 
in the church of the Holy Spirit, on the 26th of October. 
It has been said that a volume might be filled with the con¬ 
versions he made on this occasion. After this mission, 
without taking any repose, he proceeded immediately to visit 
Amalfi, and thence went to Masuri. In this place, a poor 
woman whose son had been assassinated, had constantly 
refused to pardon the murderer, though the most influen¬ 
tial persons had besought her to do so. She went to hear 
Alphonsus preach, and was so touched by the sermon, 
that, the same evening, she brought a written declaration 
that she pardoned the criminal, and publicly laid it at the 
foot of the crucifix. Throughout the neighborhood he 
8 


86 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


gave missions, which reclaimed multitudes of sinners, and 
impelled the virtuous to strive after a higher degree of 
sanctity. 

At this time he was called by Mgr. de Liguori, his uncle, 
to St. Lucy, in the diocese of Cara. The inhabitants were 
very immoral in their lives, but “ where sin abounded, grace 
did much more abound.” Abuses were extirpated ; nothing 
was spoken of but pardoning injuries, making restitution, 
and repairing scandals; and so well did he convince them 
of the merit of chastity, that upwards of fifty young ladies 
protested they would no longer think of marriage, but 
would consecrate themselves to God. They carried their 
resolve into execution, and united themselves into a Con¬ 
gregation, under the direction of a zealous priest, and 
were soon joined by many others, attracted by their noble 
example. 

At this time, the buildings at Villa dei Schiavi were 
nearly finished, and the missionaries had already begun to 
give retreats. They were visiting the country around* 
extirpating sin and planting virtue. A Congregation of 
artisans had been established, which already numbered 
more than two hundred members, whose zeal and fervor 
made them missionaries throughout the neighborhood. 
The frequentation of the Sacraments became general, and 
many individuals were arriving at a high degree of prayer. 
But all at once, a storm arose, withering those blossoms 
which promised such abundant fruits for eternity. There 
were in the country certain individuals who could not bear 
to have their vices censured, among others, a man who led 
a life openly immoral: not enduring to have his conduct 
animadverted upon, and doubtless instigated by the devil, 
he conspired the ruin of the missionaries. All the wealth 
of this house consisted of the four chaplainships, which 
brought each a carlin a day; under pretext of defend¬ 
ing the interests of the priests of the country, this man 
began to declaim aloud against the missionaries for coming 
thither to eat the bread belonging to the inhabitants, and 
getting money by extra masses, to which the legitimate 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


87 


pastors had a right. Pecuniary interests being thus brought 
into play, the clamor became general, and the most gross 
and injurious expressions were employed against them. 
The calumnies augmented, and, at length, their morals 
were attacked. Alphonsus himself was pointed out as one 
who made a traffic of his pretended sanctity. They went so 
far as to say that the missionaries intrigued with a woman, 
and received her into the convent by night; and this 
wretched creature lent herself to the calumny, defaming 
Alphonsus even more. than the others, and showing 
presents, which she pretended to have received from them. 
These calumnies made little impression upon Alphonsus ; 
he knew that persecution always accompanied works un¬ 
dertaken for God ; and contented himself with prescrib¬ 
ing to the community still more circumspection, and 
more frequent recurrence to prayer. The wicked man 
and his accomplices at last succeeded in prejudicing the 
Baron himself. Alphonsus, seeing the storm thus increas¬ 
ing, went to the Baron, to claim his protection; but it 
was too late, as soon as he saw him approach, he per¬ 
mitted these words to escape : “ What have we here, one 
of those filthy hermits ?” and immediately dismissed him 
with still greater contempt. 

This scene was soon reported, and filled the enemies of 
Alphonsus with joy. They now no longer confined them¬ 
selves to outrageous words, they took bolder steps, and 
solicited the tribunals of Naples to interfere in various 
ways, though without success. They at last had re¬ 
course to open violence. One of the lay-brothers, going 
in the morning to the church to sound the Angelus, was 
met by one of the wardens, accompanied by several peo¬ 
ple ; they forced the keys from his hands, locked the 
church, and sent him back to the house, loaded with re¬ 
proach. But fearing the people might take part with the 
missionaries, and force open the door, they placed persons 
with loaded muskets on the belfry, to prevent approach. 
They also besieged the house, and without exception in¬ 
terdicted all communication with those within. This situ 


88 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


tion becoming every day less endurable, the missionaries 
determined to abandon the place: the bishop wept with 
regret, the poor people were not less disconsolate, and 
the surrounding villages were in mourning. On the night 
of the 10th of June, 1737, they shook the dust from their 
shoes, and left the Villa. God did not permit this wicked¬ 
ness to go unpunished. The wretched woman who had 
accused Alphonsus and his companions, had her tongue 
eaten by worms, and was reduced to such a condition, that 
she could not receive the sacraments ; she was seized with 
the most dreadful remorse of conscience, and publicly 
avowed that all she had said was but an infamous calumny. 
One individual, who had joined in the conspiracy, died 
soon after in despair, uttering the most frightful cries. 
Another, one of the principal persecutors, terminated his 
life in the most terrible convulsions, and howling like a 
maniac. A third, who had sought out the false witnesses 
and written down their testimony, had his hand withered, 
and his only son died soon after: he then became an idiot 
and expired in great misery. A fourth, who had been 
bribed to attest all the calumnies, died in impenitence. A 
fifth, a healthy young man, fell down dead immediately 
after the departure of Alphonsus. The chief instigator 
alone seemed to have escaped. He remained deaf even to 
a warning sent him from heaven. For scarcely had the 
missionaries quitted the Villa, when a tremendous storm 
arose: the lightning flashed, and a thunderbolt fell at the 
feet of this man, as he sat in his room : it stunned him, and 
for some little time he remained without sense or motion. 
When he came to himself, he would not recognise the 
warning: but before long he fell into disgrace with his 
prince, was ill-used and persecuted, and within a year, he 
was found, one morning, lying dead under his bed, and 
bathed in blood. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


89 


CHAPTER XII. 

Apostolic Courses of Alphonsus. He abandons Scala . Mis¬ 
sions in various places and Dioceses, especially in that of 
Naples . 

A LPHONSUS continued to give missions throughout 
the country, every where reaping the most abundant 
harvest. But it was in the Barony of St. George, at the 
little village of Ajello, that God poured out the most ex¬ 
traordinary graces. Scandals disappeared, taverns were 
deserted, and the churches filled. Here he established, as 
usual, many devotional exercises, and there was not a 
house in which they did not say the Rosary in common. 
It was also at this place, that the Blessed Virgin was 
pleased to give to Alphonsus a public testimony of her 
love. One evening, while he was preaching on the glories 
of Mary, and exciting the people to honor her, he was 
ravished in. ecstasy and raised some feet above the pulpit; 
at the same time rays of glory proceeded from a statue of 
the Virgin, and rested on the head of her chosen servant. 

Shortly after, he visited Castellamare, a town which was 
in great want of spiritual succor, its maritime commerce 
bringing strangers from all parts, which necessarily cor¬ 
rupted morals. He took with him nine companions, and 
remained long, because of the great necessity of the peo¬ 
ple. Multitudes were converted, among whom were many 
unfortunate women ; smuggling was discouraged ; and the 
magical practices in use among the sailors were abolished. 
The whole town breathed an air of devotion, the churches 
were crowded, and the Sacraments frequented. 

By this time the new house of Ciorani being finished, 
and the small church erected, they abandoned that of St. 
Sophia. It was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, and in it 
Alphonsus placed that beloved statue of her, before which 
he had so often poured out his heart in those retreats 
which he made with his companions at Naples, in the house 
8 * 


90 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


of D. de Alteriis. The conveniences afforded by the new 
house, drew strangers there at all times, candidates for 
ordination, numerous ecclesiastics and laymen, especially 
in general missions, so that Alphonsus and his companions 
had often to sleep on the floor in a common apartment. 
At the death of the Bishop, the Archdeacon, D. Francis 
de Vicariis, who succeeded him in March, named Al¬ 
phonsus Grand Penitentiary of the archdiocese, which in¬ 
creased the concourse of visitors, and was a new occasion 
for the exercise of his zeal. 

Rejoicing at the establishment of this house, Alphonsus 
exerted himself to make the rules strictly observed, for the 
inconveniences of the former habitation had made this im¬ 
possible. The deserts of Nubia and Thebes perhaps never 
4 counted among their cenobites contemplatives, such as were 
seen in the house at Ciorani. Penitence and mortification 
were the two virtues to which they attached themselves 
most, as the necessary preparation for prayer and contem¬ 
plation. If there were brethren who did not excel, the ex¬ 
ample of their Superior and model, Alphonsus, drew them 
after him in spite of themselves. 

If on his part Alphonsus was doing all in his power to 
establish the Congregation, the devil was as busy in at¬ 
tempting to destroy it. Until then they had had no house at 
Scala. Alphonsus, in concert with the Bishop, thought of 
erecting one; but scarcely had they put their hand to the 
work, when a general commotion ensued Several indi¬ 
viduals, having learned what had happened at the Villa, 
'began in their turn to murmur and to excite others, by 
putting forward the same motives, so that soon jealousy, 
Glided by interest, caused many to regard the missionaries 
with bitterness. Alphonsus, warned by what had hap¬ 
pened at the Villa, wished to shun new misfortunes, and, 
without loss of time, removed from Scala. This was a 
blow deeply felt by Mgr. Santoro. The good lamented, 
but the envious triumphed, when on the eve of St. Bar¬ 
tholomew, the 24th of August, 1737, the missionaries left 
She town. It was reported that on the night when they de- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


91 


parted from Scala, there was heard throughout the town a 
noise made by evil spirits shouting and dancing. They 
celebrated a great victory, the departure of the missionaries 
arresting the good they had been doing; for to the scan¬ 
dals that had once been so common, had succeeded a 
horror of sin ; even the porters had been reformed, they 
often approached the holy table, and frequently might be 
met in groups carrying their burdens, and reciting the Rosary, 
or singing the hymns which Alphonsus had taught them. 
Two years after, the Pious Workers went to preach a mission 
there, when one of them declared, that they had not found 
among the people one voluntary venial .sin, and that all 
sorts of pious practices were already established. On the 
28th, a violent storm destroyed the harvest, which in that 
country consists of chestnuts, on which the poor chiefly 
live. Many considered this as a punishment of the wic¬ 
kedness of those who had forced the missionaries to retire, 
and of the weakness of the greater number, who had not 
opposed it. Alphonsus, however, did not forget Scala ; he 
sent some of his missionaries to give the novena of the 
Crucifix, that the nuns might not be deprived of their re¬ 
ligious exercises. 

The fields in which Alphonsus labored during the fol¬ 
lowing autumn and winter, were not less fertile in the 
fruits of salvation. He preached penance in many dis¬ 
tricts, and at Castaglione the concourse of people was so 
great, that they passed the night in the church. The same 
thing occurred at Coperchia, near Salerno. The year 
1739 was opened by a mission in the village of Prepezzano. 
The name of Alphonsus had become so celebrated in the 
diocese of Salerno, and such wonders of grace were ope¬ 
rated by him, that persons frequently came a distance of 
seventeen miles to 'confess to him. At Calvanico, besides 
the most wonderful fruits produced in the people, the ec¬ 
clesiastics, to whom, as was usual, he also gave the exer¬ 
cises, were so animated with fervor, that some of them fol¬ 
lowed in his suite to assist at the missions, a practice which 
is now not unfrequent. Having during the summer re- 


02 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


turned with his companions to Ciorani, to give a little re¬ 
laxation to a body overpowered with fatigue, and refresh 
his spirit in retirement, he issued forth again with renewed 
strength and redoubled vigor to attack the strongholds of 
Satan. In the beginning of 1740, accompanied by eleven 
missionaries, he overran the country, shedding the bene¬ 
dictions of Heaven on many villages where great disorders 
had previously reigned. After the spring missions, he re¬ 
turned again to Ciorani, to regulate the affairs of the Con¬ 
gregation, and reanimate his brethren by bis example in 
the observation of the rules. 

The country of St. Severino suffered, during the summer 
of this vear, from great drought. To obtain the divine 
mercy, the inhabitants of Acquarola invited Alphonsus to 
give a mission towards the end of July: their fervor was 
great during the exercises, and one day Alphonsus foretold, 
that, at a time specified an abundance of rain would fall. The 
day came without any appearance of rain, when all at 
once a very small cloud was seen above Salerno. When 
Alphonsus saw it, he extended his arms, as if to invite its 
approach, and then, prostrating himself on the ground, he 
besought the divine mercy in behalf of the people; and all 
at once the air was obscured by clouds, thunder was heard, 
the lightning flashed, and during five hours the rain fell in 
torrents. 

In the autumn of the same vear, lie again gave missions 
in many villages with his usual success, as also in the be¬ 
ginning of 1741. Among the number of those converted, 
were bandits and murderers. Many priests, uho had been 
cold and indifferent, gave themselves fervently to God, a 
circumstance which always rejoiced Alphonsus, who used 
to say: “The conversion of a priest gives more glory to 
God, than that of a hundred seculars. No layman, how¬ 
ever holy, can perform the good done by a priest.” 

A zealous priest ol Nocera, who used to frequent Cio¬ 
rani, resolved, if possible, to have a house established in 
that town. He knew that the Dean of the place had re¬ 
solved to endow a house of missionaries; he therefore 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


93 


spoke to him and to the principal inhabitants, of the vir¬ 
tues of Alphonsus and his companions, and arranged that 
they should give a mission there. It had the greatest 
success, and every one designated Alphonsus as the 
“Apostle.” He certainly enjoyed many supernatural 
gifts: he knew how to touch all hearts: he had the spirit 
of prophecy and the gift of healing, often curing fevers 
and other diseases, by making the sign of the cross. He 
lodged in the house of the aforesaid priest, whose mother 
was subject to convulsions from an excessive pain she had 
in her arm. She wrapped herself in a shirt belonging to 
Alphonsus, full of faith in his sanctity, and was immedi¬ 
ately cured. All this made the people more- than ever 
anxious to have the missionaries established among them. 
Plans were formed, but the designs of Providence were not 
accomplished until a later period. 

It was on the 18th of April in this year, that God called 
to himself the first member of the Congregation. He was 
a lay-brother, Joachim Gaudiello : he died in transports of 
joy, exclaiming: “It is I who.will carry the standard.” 
All the virtues seemed to have taken up their abode in this 
excellent subject. They had neglected to take his portrait, 
and eleven days after his death, in the hope that his body 
was still uncorrupted, they opened the coffin, and found 
their expectation justified : his body was flexible and entire, 
as if still alive. 

Providence had destined a new field for Alphonsus to 
cultivate in (he spring of 1741. His Eminence, Cardinal 
Spinelli, having become Archbishop of Naples, by the 
death of Cardinal Pignatelli, invited him to supply the 
great necessities of his diocese, and persisted in claiming 
his services, so that at last he was obliged to yield. That 
his other missions might suffer as little as possible, Al¬ 
phonsus only took from his own Congregation the Fathers 
Sarnelli and Villani, but chose the elite of all the Congre^ 
gations in Naples to assist him, and above all, the best 
missionaries of the Propaganda. The Cardinal wished it 
should be so, in order that the others might learn from him 


94 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


to conduct missions with more success. He placed at 
his disposal a country-house in the Barra, to which the 
missionaries might retire to recruit after their fatigue. On 
this occasion, the Superior of the Propaganda pretended 
that, his Congregation having a pre-eminence over all the 
Congregations in Naples, to him belonged the right of de¬ 
ciding who should be the chief; but the true motive of his 
opposition, was the unwillingness of the members of the 
Propaganda to submit themselves to a man, whom they 
had so lately wished to expel. The Cardinal, when they 
complained, replied: “I am your Archbishop, and I am 
Superior of the mission, as well as of all other Congrega¬ 
tions in the* diocese, and since the missions depend on me, 
I am the person to appoint the chief.” 

It was in the month of May these missions commenced 
at Fragola, where Alphonsus opened three at once in three 
parochial churches, and where, besides the divers pious prac¬ 
tices and exercises he was wont to establish, in order that 
the good done might be lasting, he instituted conferences, 
to be held every eight days, in which were discussed dif¬ 
ferent cases of conscience, in order to render the priests 
more skilful in the confessional. After the mission of 
Casal Nuovo, which lasted till June, he dismissed the Ne¬ 
apolitan missionaries, and notwithstanding the heat of the 
summer, he remained with his own at St. Angelo, where 
they continued to preach and hear the confessions of 
crowds, who came from all quarters. On feast days, he 
went himself, with his brethren, into the neighboring ham¬ 
lets, exhorting the people to penance. 

On these missions, they followed the same rules which had 
been established for the interior of the Congregation. The 
most common bread only was permitted, Alphonsus holding 
the maxim, that the people would be gained rather by ex¬ 
ample than by words. When they wished to supply his table 
with rare dishes, he sent them away, although his guests 
were often Canons from Naples, and other persons of dis¬ 
tinction. At Christmas, they expected some relaxation in 
these rules, but they were mistaken. Certain persons at- 


\ 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


95 


tached to the service of the Cardinal, said to him on their 
return : “ Your Eminence is, perhaps, not aware, that Al- 
phonsus gave us a treat on Christmas; he made them serve 
several additional force-meat balls, on that occasion, at the 
risk of ruining his household economy.” He allowed the 
other missionaries to travel in a carriage, because they were 
not accustomed to do otherwise; but he and his brethren 
would only make use of asses. 

In the beginning of November, the missionaries met 
again, and recommenced their pious labors. During the 
Holy Week of 174*2, although in the service of Mgr. Spinelli, 
AJphonsus could not refuse going to Nocera, to give the 
exercises in honor of the Holy Sacrament, in the great 
church of Corpus-Christi; the elfects of which were most 
consoling. 

The Cardinal, considering the abundant blessings Al- 
phonsus and his missionaries produced, proposed to estab¬ 
lish them in the Barra situated in the centre of his diocese. 
But this was far from according with the views of Al- 
phonsus, as he explained to his Eminence: “When my 
missionaries,” said he, “ will be settled at the Barra, and 
have ladies and gentlemen for their penitents, will they 
be very willing to leave this place for the hamlets and the 
mountains ? And who knows but, fascinated by their 
noble penitents, they may fix themselves at Naples for the 
greater part of the year?” He continued: “Your Emi¬ 
nence is not in want of able workmen at Naples to em¬ 
ploy in the care of the diocese, but other Bishops have not 
this advantage ; it is not from Naples we can draw mis¬ 
sionaries for villages and remote hamlets.” 

During the octave of Easter, he again began the missions 
in the country, and during the season, besides spiritual ex¬ 
ercises, he gave more than seventy missions. An eye-wit¬ 
ness, speaking of the effect of his labors, says: ‘‘Were I 
to report all the facts in particular, they would fill volumes. 
In the diocese of Naples, the Father D. AJphonsus banished 
scandals and abuses without number. No more indecencies 
were committed in the church ; women no longer dressed 


96 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


in a manner to give scandal, and occasion the weak to sin. 

. . . Taverns were no longer frequented, certain dances 
and pastimes, formerly in use, were abolished; pious can¬ 
ticles replaced the licentious songs so common during the 
harvest and vintage.” If Alphonsus operated wonders on 
the morals of the people, it was due to his extraordinary 
labors and fatigues: his body and his mind were continu¬ 
ally in action ; no one could understand how he managed to 
do what would have overpowered any one else; people said 
he lived by miracle ; he often preached twice, sometimes 
three times, in one day; but he preached even more by his 
example. He ate little, and the time he gave to sleep was 
short. In long journeys, and during the exercises of a mis¬ 
sion, whatever his fatigue might be, he never lessened his 
bodily austerities, never gave himself the least solace. He 
always travelled on an ass, and those who did not know 
him, often mistook him foi a domestic. One day when he 
preached at the opening of a mission, the peasants, struck 
by the beautiful words which they heard, said to each other, 
“ Well, if the cook can preach in that manner, what will it 
be when the others begin ?” He always reserved for him¬ 
self the worst bed and the most incommodious chamber. 
Every thing came well to him, provided he were mortified 
and humiliated. At Casal Nuovo, he gave up to his com¬ 
panions the only three rooms that could be had, and kept 
for himself a miserable ruin, long uninhabited. 

When the heat of summer had increased, and the harvest 
time was at hand, Alphonsus sent his missionaries in small 
numbers, and for a few’ days only, to those places where 
missions had already been given. These renewals of mis¬ 
sions, which he originated, they having been unknown be¬ 
fore him, produced much fruit. They re-animated the 
fervor of the confraternities which had been established, con¬ 
firmed the people in their pious practices, raised those who 
had fallen, and encouraged those who persevered. During 
this summer, he labored incessantly to promote devotion to 
the Mother of God, giving retreats for nine days preceding 
any of her feasts. He was also the originator of these 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


97 


Novenas, now so common in Naples and other places, 
which continue to produce such benefits to the souls of all 
who engage in them. After terminating his labors in the 
Barra, he returned, in the beginning of July, for a short 
time, to Ciorani. 


CHAPTER XIII. 

Alphonsus , with his Companions , makes the three Religious 
Vows. He founds the House of Nocera. Oppositions he 
encounters. 

H ITHERTO Alphonsus and his companions had lived 
together without binding themselves by vows. All 
was free and spontaneous; but, considering that in a so¬ 
ciety the spirit of religion decays rather than increases, 
Alphonsus determined to retain and fix the spirit of piety 
by vows, and form his Congregatian into an apostolical 
community. He represented to his companions the merit 
they would acquire before God, when by vows, they should 
have sacrificed their own will, and despoiled themselves of 
worldly wealth: “The renouncement of our own will,” 
he said, “ procures more glory to God than all the good 
works we could do from our own choice. A delicious 
fruit gives pleasure to him to whom we present it; but, if 
with the fruit we give also the tree that produces it, the 
offering acquires an infinitely greater value.” “ The vow,” 
he added, “ will be as a buckler in the hand of the mis¬ 
sionary against the devil and his own inconstancy; it 
will confirm him in his vocation to the service of God; it 
will be to him as an anchor to preserve his vessel beaten 
and tossed by the winds.” The most of his companions 
needed no importunities to induce them to make the gen¬ 
erous sacrifice ; on the contrary, they never ceased to urge 
him to put it into execution. The measure being resolved 
upon, Alphonsus thought only of the engagements by 
which the members of his Congregation should be bound. 
9 


98 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


It was determined that each, in preserving his weallh, 
should renounce the temporary use of it. He determined 
that they should bind themselves to accept no ecclesias¬ 
tical dignity, no title, employment, or benefice, out of the 
Congregation ; and that they should refuse every thing of 
the kind, unless commanded by the Pope himself to 
accept. He prescribed a life in common, without distinc¬ 
tion of merit or rank, in order to unite them closely in 
God, and bind them together by the disinterested ties of 
charity. After having, by these rules, banished interest and 
cupidity, he desired above all, to unite the hearts of all by 
the vow of obedience to the will of one Superior, this 
virtue of obedience being the guarantee for the existence 
of a religious house. “When obedience and subordina¬ 
tion are wanting,” he used to say, “ a true religious cannot 
live, and what would have been a Paradise by concord, be¬ 
comes a Hell by diversity of feeling and sentiment.” He 
established by unanimous consent, that every one, on the 
termination of his novitiate, should take the vow of living 
and dying in the Congregation; but in case of a sufficient 
cause to act otherwise, dispensation could be obtained, 
only, however, from the sovereign Pontiff or the Superior 
General, whilst the Congregation would be always free to 
send away any one whose conduct should not be edifying, 
and who should be incorrigible. 

Always distrusting his own light, he recurred frequently 
to God, and consulted with many pious persons, above all, 
with Mgr. Falcoja. All approved of the plan submitted 
to their consideration ; and at length it was resolved to 
proceed to the profession on the day of St. Mary Magda¬ 
lene, the 22d of July, 1742, after three days passed in re¬ 
treat, constant prayer, and the most rigorous silence. As 
the Institute was not yet confirmed by the Pope, and Al- 
phonsus had no legitimate character of Superior, they 
agreed to make their vow of perseverance to Mgr. Falcoja, 
in his quality of Bishop, as he took such a deep interest in 
the Congregation. The joy was unanimous, and Alphonsus, 
after having returned thanks to God, and animated his 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


99 


brethren to be faithful, departed with F. Villani for the 
Barra. 

Although Alphonsus saw the great good which resulted 
from his mission in the diocese of Naples, and the extreme 
satisfaction of the Cardinal, it was yet with regret that he 
labored there. He thought continually of the want of so 
many other places, reflecting that the good could be as 
easily done by the numerous zealous and pious missionaries 
the Cardinal had at his own disposal. He prayed, he disci¬ 
plined his body, and exhorted his brethren of Ciorani to 
join with him in prayer, that he might be delivered from 
Naples. Unhappy as he was on this subject, he would not 
displease the Cardinal, yet it was impossible to remain 
much longer in his present condition. He applied to the 
Canon James Fontana, a man of much merit, who had a 
great influence with the Cardinal, and explained to him his 
anxieties on the subject, requesting him to speak with his 
Eminence, in order, if possible, to obtain his consent to 
withdraw from these missions. The Cardinal was much 
annoyed, when the Canon first spoke with him, and de¬ 
clared that if Alphonsus left, he would discontinue the 
missions altogether. Fontana persisted however, and in 
the end persuaded him, that the missions could be carried 
on successfully without Alphonsus. But it was only on 
condition that F. Sarnelli should be left to superintend 
them, that the Cardinal at last consented to part with 
Alphonsus. This arrangement being made, F. Sarnelli 
remained at Naples until 1748. 

Alphonsus took leave of the Archbishop, on the 3d of 
July. Mounted on a sorry mule, he traversed the streets 
of Naples with F. Villani, and alighted at the gate of the 
archiepiscopal palace; some were edified by his humility, 
while others mocked at him and laughed. He placed him¬ 
self in an obscure corner of the ante-room, which was 
filled with gentlemen and dignified ecclesiastics. In a 
few minutes, the Cardinal came out himself, went straight 
to Alphonsus, took him by the hand, and led him into his 
chamber. He spoke of the missions, the good they had 


100 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


produced, and thanked him for the zeal he had shown in 
the cause, and testified the greatest regret at losing him. 
Alphonsus, on his part, thanked him for the favors he had 
received, and begged his continued protection for the Con¬ 
gregation. He then proceeded to Barra, where he had 
promised to make the novena of the Assumption, and af¬ 
terwards, accompanied by F. Villani, returned to Ciorani. 

The projects of the Dean of Nocera now began to take 
effect. Clergy and laity were equally desirous to have the 
Congregation established there, and the Bishop, Mgr. 
Dominicis, sighed for the day of their arrival. The Dean 
Contaldi gave the house and furniture, promising to give at 
his death a further legacy of three thousand ducats. He 
expressed his intention of living in the house with them ; 
while they, on their part, promised to care for him as if he 
were one of themselves. All was finally arranged, to the 
great satisfaction of the inhabitants, in October, 1742. F. 
Sportelli was made rector, and the Fathers Mazzini and 
Jourdan, were appointed to be with him. 

Having disembarrassed himself of Naples, Alphonsus 
set about giving missions in the destitute parts of the 
country. Here, as elsewhere, his ardent zeal and apostolic 
labors were crowned with the most astonishing success. 
God also furnished him occasions for exercising patience, 
meekness and humility. In one of the numberless villages 
where he gave missions, he obtained with great difficulty 
a lodging in a monastery, where the Archbishop had 
ordered him to be received. The Superior received him 
with a very bad grace, and took leave of him still more 
rudely. As soon as the mission was terminated, he turned 
him out of the monastery, notwithstanding his being at¬ 
tacked by fever in consequence of fatigue; he left the 
place without uttering a word of complaint. By order of 
the Archbishop, he went to St. Theda, although he was 
scarcely convalescent. Here also he was rudely received 
by the Curate, who pretended he could not lodge him, 
and that he had sent a message to tell him so. Alphonsus 
tried in vain to calm his bad humor, and at length a no- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


101 


tary, who was present, indignant at such a behaviour, gave 
him and his companions accommodation in his own house. 
This mission was attended with great results. Again at 
Correa, the Curate would not have a mission there, al¬ 
though the Archbishop of Amalfi had commanded it, and 
when Alphonsus arrived, he was refused admission to the 
house. Without being disconcerted, he quietly took 
refuge in a corner of the church. A gentleman, who wit¬ 
nessed the proceeding, received the missionaries into his 
own house, and this mission also had wonderful success. 

While Alphonsus, after the course of these missions, 
always more and more disgusted with the world, did pen¬ 
ance at Ciorani, and labored for the salvation of men, the 
world did its best to attract him again. His father, D. 
Joseph, could not endure the thought, that his brilliant 
talents should be employed in the country among poor 
peasants and shepherds; he wished to see him occupy a 
dignified position in the Church. To obtain this, he em¬ 
ployed every artifice, but Alphonsus, on his part, was 
invulnerable to all attacks. “ Speak no more to me,” he 
wrote to him, “ on the subject of the episcopate ; even if 
you succeed in obtaining a bishopric for me, I will in¬ 
stantly refuse it. We have a rule in our Congregation to 
refuse all such dignities.” D. Joseph desired to see his 
son raised to dignities in this world, while Alphonsus only 
wished to see his father obtain great glory in heaven. He 
wrote to him about this time as follows: “I beseech you, 
my dear father, to keep yourself more closely united with 
God. Confess often, and have your accounts ready, for 
our Lord will come at an hour when we least expect. 
Think of your advanced age, for who knows how soon 
you may be called from this world? That day will come, 
whether we watch or not: I recommend you to hear mass 
every day, for I fear much for your eternal salvation. I 
hope the Virgin Mary will assist you, but without your co¬ 
operation she will do nothing.” 

While affairs were prospering at Nocera, Mgr. Dominicis 
obtained the sanction for the establishment of the house, 

9* 


102 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


and in July, 1743, he issued the letters of authorization. 
As there was not yet at Pagani a house and church suit¬ 
able for the new missionaries, the bishop granted them, in 
the mean time, the church of St. Dominic. When the first 
stone of the new establishment was laid, the chapter of 
the cathedral and the four curates of the Dean attended, 
the Dean himself giving the benediction. The construe- 
tion was hardly commenced, when materials flowed in from 
all quarters, as if by miracle. Men and women strove to 
rival each other in contributing towards its erection ; they 
labored with their own hands; ladies of quality, gentle¬ 
men, all united to hasten the progress of the work. Mar¬ 
ried, as well as unmarried, despoiled themselves of their 
jewels and ornaments to contribute towards the establish¬ 
ment, and the seven communes voted one hundred 
ducats. 

About this time, when the people of Angri found out 
the good Alphonsus was doing everywhere, they insisted 
on having a mission, the place containing about five thou¬ 
sand souls. He went there in the month of November, 
and was received as an Apostle, each striving to procure 
some object that he had worn or touched. . He lodged in 
the house of Laurence Rossi, whose daughter obtained 
from a lay-brother a pair of stockings tinged with his 
blood. She preserved them very devoutly, but a religious 
reproving her for doing so, Alphonsus being still alive, she 
gave them away to a poor man whose legs were swollen 
with dropsy. Some days after, he returned to the house 
-entirely cured, and when she expressed her astonishment, 
he replied: “From the time you gave me the stockings, 
the swelling has disappeared.” Alphonsus gathered in 
this mission the most wonderful fruits. They calculated 
there were in this place one hundred and twenty-eight 
women of the town; but when the mission was finished, 
there was no longer one, all had been reformed. More 
than three hundred young girls bid adieu to the world, and 
embraced the religious life, and a priest whose life had 
been scandalous, became a sincere penitent. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


103 


He had not yet been in the centre of the town of No- 
cera. But as soon as they heard the wonders he had ac¬ 
complished at Angri, they solicited him to preach in the 
church of St. Matthew, a parish containing about six thou¬ 
sand souls. He exhorted the faithful of the parish to erect 
a statue to our Lady of Dolors, in the church. Immedi¬ 
ately the women brought every thing they had most pre¬ 
cious in gold and silver; the offerings were so numerous 
that a considerable sum remained, which was given to the 
poor. During this mission, the most glorious Virgin tes¬ 
tified also her love for him by operating the most extraor¬ 
dinary conversions at his intercession. The evening he 
arrived, an unfortunate young man arose during the night 
to engage in a sinful transaction. He had a repugnance, 
however, to commit sin with the scapular about his neck : 
he took it off to place it in a hole in the wall, but when he 
extended his hand, he felt himself drawn back, and fled 
from the spot in terror. The following night the Blessed 
Virgin, wishing to recompense the slight homage paid to 
her scapular, appeared to him in a dream. “ Miserable 
being,” she said, “ thou hadst respect for my scapular, and 
thou hadst no horror for offending my Son; to-morrow F. 
Alphonsus will come here to give a mission, go to confess 
to him, and amend thy life.” The young man had never 
heard of Alphonsus, and knew nothing of the mission ; 
but next morning he went to find a kind of fortune-teller, 
to have his dream interpreted, but before he opened his 
mouth, this person addressed him with: “Do you not 
know that F. Alphonsus has arrived to-day to give a mis¬ 
sion ?” When the young man heard the words “Al¬ 
phonsus,” and “ mission,” he was thunderstruck ; he ran 
in haste to the dwelling of Alphonsus, and recounted to 
him the whole story. “So then,” said Alphonsus, his 
eyes filling with tears, “ our good Mother has sent you to 
me.” He reconciled him with God, and his life ever after 
was most edifying. 

When they opened the mission at Ciorani, they found 
the house much too small to receive the numbers of clergy 


104 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


and- laity who came to make retreats. Alphonsus, there¬ 
fore, at the suggestion of the Archbishop, proposed to ex¬ 
tend the buildings, but F. Rossi, who was Superior, differ¬ 
ing from him in opinion, because of their want of funds, 
“My father,” said he, “ we ought not to build as seculars 
do, who begin by amassing money, and then set to work; 
we ought to follow an opposite rule, we ought first to 
build, and afterwards expect from Providence what is ne¬ 
cessary.” F. Rossi obeyed, and animated by the confi¬ 
dence of Alphonsus, he began with only one sequin in 
his pocket, but he had never cause to regret his obedience, 
for, independently of his own liberality, the Archbishop 
wrote a circular to incite all the diocese to contribute to¬ 
wards the work. In consequence, considerable sums were 
forwarded to them, and these were not confined to the dio¬ 
cese. There happened also two remarkable instances of 
Providence. One day, F. Rossi being dispirited because of 
the expense, a young man presented himself to be re¬ 
ceived into the Congregation as a lay-brother, and F. 
Rossi admitted him provisionally. In withdrawing to pre¬ 
pare for admission, he put into the hands of the father 
some pieces of money wrapped up in a paper, asking him 
to say mass for him. The paper seemed to contain about 
ten shillings; but what was his surprise on opening it, to 
find a hundred gold ducats. He immediately sent after the 
young man, but he could not be heard of, and never w r as 
seen again. On another day, Alphonsus called together 
the young students, and ordered them to get up a petition 
to Jesus ChrivSt in the Most Holy Sacrament, for the suc¬ 
cess of the newly begun building. When it was signed, he 
deposited it in the tabernacle, adjoining his own petition 
to that of the young clerics. Scarcely had he done this, 
when he was called to Naples, to vote for several gentle¬ 
men who wished to receive the order of Knighthood, 
at the seat of Porta Nuova. He instantly set out on a 
wretched mule, and arrived at Porta Nuova. On attempt¬ 
ing to enter, the guard mistook him for some vagabond, 
and rudely repulsed him. His clothes were shabby, hi« 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


105 


beard unshorn, and his hair in disorder; he smiled at the 
mistake, and waited quietly until the chevalier in waiting 
perceived him, and advanced to meet him, not with the 
usual forms of salutation, but respectfully kissing his hand, 
to the great astonishment and confusion of the guard. 
On this occasion he received a present so considerable, 
that it sufficed to finish the building. 

About this time, D. Joseph Liguori came to Ciorani to 
visit his son. He admired the edifying life they led, the 
silence which reigned, and the odor of sanctity which 
pervaded every thing. It filled his mind with thoughts 
of eternity, and detached his heart from worldly things. 
He felt a holy envy at the happiness of his son’s life, 
pressed him to his bosom, and blessed the Lord for the 
benediction showered upon his house. He prolonged 
his stay at Ciorani, and every day more taken with the 
humble and peaceful life of the fathers, he took the reso¬ 
lution of forsaking the world, renouncing his rank, and 
living under the direction of his son, as an humble lay- 
brother, and besought admission with tears in his eyes. 
But Alphonsus, though delighted with the humility of his 
father, nevertheless, dissuaded him from his purpose, assur¬ 
ing him that it was not the will of God he should leave 
the world, but remain in it to edify by his example. He 
returned to Naples an altered man. Not content with 
being a pious and exemplary nobleman, he wished to be¬ 
come a saint; he lived like a fervent anchorite, praying in 
the church, meditating and reading the lives of the saints 
at home. He kept up a regular correspondence with his 
son, following his counsels in all that concerned his sal¬ 
vation. 

The sun still shone which had enlightened with its 
beams the birth of the house of Nocera, but about this 
time it became obscured by clouds, and serious alarms suc¬ 
ceeded to the dawn of its morning hopes. The devil 
feared the increase of a work so contrary to his designs, 
and attacked it immediately through the envy that began to 
fill the hearts of some in the neighborhood. They sue- 


106 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


ceeded in alienating the minds of many, and diminishing 
the respect in which the public had held the missionaries, 
which ended at last in irritation and contempt. Some 
priests, with the gentry, continued to favor Alphonsus, but 
the fire was too strong to be put down by such feeble means. 
Twenty-five curates entered into a league with other 
priests; the religious mendicants of Nocera and Pagani 
joined them. They invited the fathers of Mount Olive, of 
the order of Citeaux, and those of Montevergine, to join 
the crusade, but they were horror-struck at the proposition. 
There remained but two of the curates of Pagani not op¬ 
posed to the missionaries. When the plot was formed, the 
first move was to endeavor to prejudice the king, but God 
made known his displeasure in a singular manner. They 
employed a celebrated advocate to write out a memorial of 
their grievances ; he took up a pen, it would not write ; 
he tried a second and a third, but all to no purpose; he at 
length succeeded in writing a page, but when about to 
turn over the leaf, instead of throwing sand upon it, he 
lifted the ink by mistake, and blotted all he had written. 
Struck by these mysterious accidents, he exclaimed: “Em¬ 
ploy whom you will, but as for me, I will have nothing 
more to do with any business against these missionaries,” 
and so saying, tore the paper in pieces. This fact made 
great impression on people of sense, but none on the 
enemies of the missionaries. They employed another ad¬ 
vocate, and God permitted the affair to proceed. In order 
to gain their end with the king, they would fain have per¬ 
suaded the bishop to concur in their views, but their ef¬ 
forts were vain. Indignant at their wicked designs, he 
shut his ears to all their representations ; and to show how 
much he esteemed the missionaries, he, in spite of the mal¬ 
contents, chose one of them for his own confessor, and 
when he visited his diocese, caused two of the fathers to 
accompany him to preach to the people and fill the other 
offices. 

In spite of this check, the courage of their enemies was 
not abated, but rather increased. The friendship and pro- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


107 


tection of many excellent priests and wealthy gentlemen 
of the neighborhood, did not prevent them giving themselves 
up to all sorts of excess. If any of the fathers appeared 
in the town, he was assailed with taunts and loaded with 
insults. One day, while preparing to say mass in the paro¬ 
chial church, one of them had the amice pulled out of his 
hands. The lay-brothers had their share in these outrages 
whenever any of them appeared in the street. The 
Brother Anthony de Lauro, being one day digging in the 
garden, a man passing on the other side of the hedge, be¬ 
gan to abuse him grossly ; the brother continued to dig, as 
if he heard nothing, and this so irritated the man, that he 
jumped into the garden, ran up to him, and gave him a 
violent blow on the face. The holy brother showed no re¬ 
sentment, but knelt down and offered the other cheek ; the 
man withdrew, covered with confusion. During the silence 
of night, they would come howling under the windows, 
singing indecent songs and using violent language. Al- 
phonsus was then at Ciorani, but as soon as he heard what 
was going on at Nocera, he came thither with all speed. 
But how different was his reception now from what it had 
formerly been! A person came to the house and addressed 
him as a vagabond, accusing him of coming with his com¬ 
panions to seduce the inhabitants, to eat the bread of their 
children, and that being but miserable wretches, banished 
from their own country, they had thrown themselves on 
this country to devour it. At these odious words, Al- 
phonsus humbled himself, but his humility redoubled the 
audacity of his adversary, who continued abusing him a 
long time. The petition addressed to the king had no 
success; he knew too well the merit of Alphonsus and 
his disciples, to allow himself to be deceived. No more 
success had another, addressed to the Viceroy, during the 
absence of the king in the Abbruzzi, his ministers know¬ 
ing the probity of the missionaries and the favorable dispo¬ 
sition of the king. Being thus defeated, they began to 
seek help in Nocera itself. They went to Contaldi, on 
whom Alphonsus leant, and who had aided him in the 


108 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHPNSUS. 


establishment at Pagani. Vice assumed the appearance 
of virtue so successfully, that he allowed himself to be 
gained, and began to repent of what he had done for Al¬ 
phonsus. Knowing from what had happened at the \ ilia, 
that they were threatened with a similar misfortune, AI- 
phonsus inquired diligently to know the will of God ; he 
went to Naples to consult with those enlightened and pious 
friends, by whose advice he was guided in his difficulties. 
He went also to Castellamare to consult Mgr. Falcoja, and 
while they were talking, the bishop suddenly casting his 
eyes on a small statue of St. Michael, exclaimed : “ It is 
the devil, it is the devil; hold firm, and continue to fight ; 
God and St. Michael will protect you.” He then advised 
him to dedicate the house and the church to the arch¬ 
angel Michael. 

The tempest, far from abating, continued to rage with 
redoubled violence at Pagani. Alphonsus prayed and mor¬ 
tified himself, he besought the prayers of many holy souls, 
particularly of religious houses, and ceased not to go on 
with the missions wherever he was asked. His enemies 
continued their hostilities, and not content with attempting 
to ruin the house at Pagani, they desired to blot out the 
Conffreiration from the face of the earth. But their con- 
tinual intrigues, their daily cavilings, at length aroused the 
zeal of several gentlemen of Nocera, Pagani, and other 
places in the neighborhood, who boldly declared them¬ 
selves in favor of Alphonsus and his companions, and soon 
there was hardly one respectable family who did not take 
their part. The three general, and seven special syndics of 
the seven municipal communities of the district of Nocera, 
convoked therefore an assembly of the inhabitants, where 
all the communities, with the exception of those of Pagani, 
decided that the missionaries should be defended and 
upheld. When this manifestation of good feeling was re¬ 
ported to Alphonsus, lie burst into tears at finding the 
good he had done among them appreciated by the most 
important class. But by this his enemies became more 
and more embittered, and in the beginning of June, 1744, 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


109 


they attacked him both at Naples and Rome : chiefly at¬ 
tempting to prove that the existence of the Congregation 
was contrary to civil and canon laws. When Alphonsus 
saw that with the branches they would destroy the roots 
also, he recalled the anciSnt spirit which had animated him 
at the bar, and with the civil law in his hand, he collected 
the means of defence, established the reasons which proved 
the rights of their cause, and showed in what circumstances 
a convent could be called lawful or illegal. At Rome, he 
knew equally well how to reduce his enemies to silence, 
confounding them by bulls of Sovereign Pontiffs, and by 
the authority of canon law. As to the calumnies against 
the lives of the members of his Congregation, he would not 
notice them, for they were sufficiently contradicted by 
public notoriety. The memorials he produced pleased the 
Sovereign at Naples, and obtained favor with the Pope and 
the Cardinals. 

After having been defeated in this attempt, they had re¬ 
course to the Sacred Congregation of Bishops and Regu¬ 
lars; but the gentlemen of Pagani, Nocera, Corbara and 
St. Egidio, no sooner learned of this new attack, than 
they armed themselves to defend Alphonsus. Thirty-six 
of them undertook, the 16th of July, 1744, to charge them¬ 
selves with the conduct of this affair at Rome, and to pro¬ 
cure an advocate and procurator. At the same time, sev¬ 
eral curates, the chapter of the Cathedral, the clergy of 
Nocera, and twenty-three ecclesiastics of Pagani, declared 
themselves to the Pope, in favor of Alphonsus. Benedict 
XIV then occupied the Holy See* and hearing thus of an 
institution lately established in the Church, he wished to 
inquire into the merits of its founder. He accordingly in¬ 
structed Cardinal Spinola to obtain exact information from 
the Bishop of Nocera. In consequence of this, Mgr. 
Dominicis replied the 3d of August. After having shown 
that the complaints of the malcontents were unfounded, 
and after having combatted their calumnies, he proceeded 
to the most important point, that is to say, the end for 
which Alphonsus proposed to found the Congregation, and 
10 


110 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


finished by an eulogium on his sanctity, and the high esti¬ 
mation in which he was held by the Cardinal Archbishop 
of Naples and many other bishops. 

The bad success of this last attempt was not sufficient 
to make the malcontents renounce their enterprise. They 
got possession of the royal decree, and by bribing the un¬ 
derlings of office, they altered the w ords from “ the king 
permits the erection of a house with a church,” to “ the 
king permits the erection of a house without a church,” 
and with this in their hands, they hastened to the commis¬ 
sary of the king, who was persuaded that Alphonsus in 
building a church had gone beyond his limits. On the 
16th day of July, the commissary despatched an order to 
Nocera, to discontinue the building at Pagani. This time, 
the wicked triumphed., and Alphonsus was in great em¬ 
barrassment, not knowing how r to proceed. He sent F. 
St. Severino to Naples, to the Minister of State, the Mar¬ 
quis Brancone, to inform him of the obstacle, and request 
his assistance to remove it. The Marquis was aston¬ 
ished when he heard of this, for he remembered that the 
king had expressly given leave to build a church. He 
ordered one of the clerks of the bureau to produce the 
register, and wrote in it with his own hand, “ a house with 
a church,” saying with a tone of severity, for he suspected 
the fraud that had been committed, “ I know the intention 
of the king,” and ordered him to go instantly to inform the 
commissary, and tell him the true state of the case. It 
w r as necessary to submit, and on the 21st of July, an order 
was transmitted to the Syndic of Pagani, to permit the pro¬ 
gress of the building. 

In spite of all their successive defeats, the malcontents 
were not proof against a new temptation, which, like their 
former fraud, turned to their own confusion. Beaten at 
Naples, repulsed at Rome, they appealed to the tribunals. 
Contaldi would not appear against them in person, but a 
process was commenced in the name of his sister, to com¬ 
pel the missionaries to abandon the house. She forced 
herself unexpectedly into the house, accompanied by 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


Ill 


twenty other persons and two notaries, before whom she 
declared that the house was her property. Alphonsus, 
when he heard of this, came immediately to Nocera to 
consult on what was to be done, when the bishop and 
other friends advised him not to yield. A celebrated advo¬ 
cate undertook the cause, and the pretended proprietor¬ 
ship of the sister was soon exposed, to the confusion of 
those who had attempted to play off such a trick. But 
their resentment, far from being checked, exhibited itself in 
every thing that could cause annoyance to the fathers. 
One day, a person of rank, belonging to the clergy, said 
to Alphonsus : “ If you will act the thief, and rob people 
by force, why do you not go to the highways.” “Blessed 
be God,” meekly replied Alphonsus, “ I have left my house 
to be treated as a robber at Nocera!” 

In the month of August, they made another attempt at 
Rome, but warned by experience, they no longer attacked 
Alphonsus, but confined themselves to defaming his com¬ 
panions. This roused all the most respectable inhabitants 
of Nocera and Pagani in their favor. The three general 
Syndics took upon themselves the expense of defending 
the Congregation at Rome. On the other hand, Benedict 
XIV, again charged Cardinal Spinola to make new in¬ 
quiries of Cardinal Spinelli at Naples, and also of the 
Archbishop of Salerno, Mgr. Rossi. All this was the 
work of Providence, in order that the Congregation might 
become known to the Sovereign Pontiff and the world at 
large; in reality, the brilliant testimony rendered by these 
two dignitaries of the Church, hastened the approbation 
given by the Court of Rome in favor of the new Institute. 

In the mean time, Mgr. Dominicis attempted to arrange 
the affair by arbitration; the proposal was agreed to by 
both parties; but when Contaldi stated that he would take 
upon himself the debts contracted, provided the mission¬ 
aries evacuated the premises and quitted Pagani, and, if 
they would not, he would shut up the church of St. Domi¬ 
nic, and force them to live as simple individuals, the bishop 
ii) the greatest indignation broke up the meeting, and 


112 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


turning to the fathers said : “ Prosecute your cause at Pome 
and at Naples, trust in Cardinal Spinelli; God will protect 
you.” Mgr. Dominicis died on the 22d of August of this 
year, and to the great dismay of the disaffected, he was 
succeeded by Mgr. Volpe, who was equally well disposed 
towards the missionaries as his predecessor had been. 


CHAPTER XIV. 

. ilphonsus founds the Houses of Iliceto and Caposele, and 
establishes a Novitiate. His first Publications. He seeks 
to have his Congregation approved by the King . 

XTTHTLE the house of Pagani was thus agitated by the 
VV tempest, and Alphonsus with his companions, drank, 
during eight months, the bitter chalice of tribulation, God 
opened a new field to him, destined to receive seed no less 
productive than that which had hitherto been sown. The 
prince of Castellaneta, D. Matthias Miroballo, of Aragon, 
besought Alphonsus to visit his fief of Iliceto, to give the 
inhabitants the instruction and consolation of which they 
were so much in want; the Bishop of Bovino, Mgr. Lucci, 
dispatched at the same time a canon of his Cathedral, 
James Casati, to join in the invitation. Alphonsus, acced¬ 
ing to the demand, arrived there with his companions, on 
the 12th of November. This mission had the usual suc¬ 
cess. But the Canon had a further object in view. At 
the corner of a wood, called the Vallin-Vincoli, on a small 
elevation, stood an ancient church, dedicated to the Virgin, 
under the title of Mary of Consolation. It had once be¬ 
longed to the Augustinians, and in the church was a large 
painting of the Virgin Mary, for which the faithful of the 
neighborhood had a great devotion. There the Canon had 
resolved on establishing a community. Alphonsus how¬ 
ever hesitated to accept the proposal, because the distance 
between the church and any inhabited place was very 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


113 


considerable; but when visiting the picture, he was so 
captivated, that the Fathers Cafaro and St. Severino easily 
persuaded him to accept the offer, to the great joy of all 
the people, and to settle there at once. Near Iliceto there 
were vast domains of the crown, where thousands of men 
were employed in keeping flocks and herds, and cultivating 
the ground ; a great number of whom rarely received any 
spiritual assistance, and, even on feast days, had seldom an 
opportunity of hearing mass. Touched by their destitu¬ 
tion, Alphonsus sent his companions out in different direc¬ 
tions, to distribute to them the bread of life; and he 
looked forward to the house of Iliceto becoming the place 
from whence these abandoned people would derive spi¬ 
ritual succor in time to come. His Majesty gave his ap¬ 
probation for this new house, on the 9th of January, 1745. 

Having arranged the affairs of this house, he assembled 
his companions, and departed towards the end of the 
same month, for Madugno, where D. Dominic Fiori, profes¬ 
sor of music in the Cathedral of Naples, had invited him 
to give a mission, being determined to found a house in this 
his native place, having himself no heir to succeed him. 
This mission was a difficult one, and cost much labor and 
fatigue: it lasted forty days, so great were the wants of 
the inhabitants. It was in this mission, that Alphonsus, 
one morning, while celebrating mass in the church of a 
monastery, was raised several feet from the ground, as 
the religious attested. As for the foundation of a house 
in the place, he advised Fiori to make arrangements 
with the fathers of St. Vincent of Paul, having heard that 
the king had granted them an establishment in the 
neighborhood, and not wishing to interfere with this 
foundation. 

After their return from Madugno, Alphonsus and his 
companions suffered much in their new establishment at 
Iliceto. Besides their voluntary penances, they experi¬ 
enced on all sides suffering and affliction. A priest who 
was there during that winter, said in a letter, “ the bread 
was of rye, mixed with bran, black as a coal, and ill baked, 
10 * 


114 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


and sometimes the} 7 had none at all, and were obliged to 
- accept the charity of an old man, who lived on the produce 
of his goats and the culture of a small field near his cot¬ 
tage. For pottage, they had a species of broth or panada, 
or bruised beans, so old that they had the color of bread. 
They never tasted meat, except when some sheep or cow 
died of exhaustion. They had no fruits but wild chestnuts 
or crab apples. They rarely had wine, and then but in 
small quantity, and very bad. On feast days, they had a 
large cake made of the same flour as the bread, but sea¬ 
soned with a little cheese and salt, for sugar or pepper 
were luxuries they could not afford. They had no linen, 
and no money to buy it. They were almost shirtless, and 
could only change once in two or three weeks. There 
never was a religious house where greater poverty reigned: 
their clothes were ragged and patched. . . . The house 
was an old convent, suppressed during the pontificate of 
Innocent XI, and but a mass of ruins. The wind blew 
more keenly within than without, the walls were full of 
cracks, the partitions brick without mortar. The windows 
were of oiled paper instead of glass. The roof was bad, 
the cells without ceiling, so that the snow covered the beds 
during winter; in short, the misery was so great, that one 
of the fathers lost courage, and returned to the world.” 
Among all these miseries, or rather in consequence of 
them, Alphonsus had the misfortune to lose his dear Vitus 
Curzius. During the month of July, he was sent out to 
beg for a little corn. Although the good brother was 
unaccustomed to traverse the country during the burning 
heats, he nevertheless obeyed cheerfully; but one evening, 
being refused a lodging where he had applied for one, he 
slept in the field, and, during the night, was seized with a 
violent fever. Not being able to drag himself to his con¬ 
vent, he w as taken into the house by a charitable priest, and 
after forty-nine days of intense suffering, went to receive 
the reward of his labors in the mansions of the blessed. 
Th is death afflicted Alphonsus deeply, though he was con¬ 
soled on the other hand, by the reflection that he had died 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


115 


rich in merits and virtues. An abridgment of his life has 
been written by Alphonsus himself. 

The fury of the disaffected of Pagani was not abated, 
and new plots were invented to ruin the missionaries. 
Contaldi, finding himself disappointed in obtaining his ob¬ 
ject through-the instrumentality of others, threw off the 
mask, and openly attacked them. Scarcely had Alphonsus 
returned from the Pouille, when he openly revoked the 
donation he had made in their favor, and in concert with 
his sister, called them to appear before the council of the 
king. Not knowing how to justify his steps, he pretended 
that the missionaries had deceived him in usurping the 
title of Congregation, when they had neither been recog¬ 
nised by the king nor the Pope; he demanded, in conse¬ 
quence, that they should be forbidden to build, protesting 
that he had made the donation not for a religious commu¬ 
nity, but for a college of priests. But the royal council, 
having sent an auditor to verify the facts, the claims of 
Contaldi were found insufficient, and on the 11th of Janu¬ 
ary, 1745, the auditor, in the name of the council, con¬ 
firmed the missionaries in the possession of the property, 
the donation being found valid and inviolable. 

This disappointment did not abate his animosity. He 
presented a claim to the king, filled with malignity rather 
than reason. But the Syndic of Pagani and three other 
Syndics, undertook the defence, and the indubitable integ¬ 
rity of Alphonsus and his companions, made his Majesty 
withstand all his numerous attempts against them. It was 
plain, however, that these men acted entirely at the insti¬ 
gation of the devil. For they introduced two barrels of 
gun-powder under the foundation of the house, and had 
not one of their accomplices, stung by remorse of con¬ 
science, revealed the plot, the whole would have been de¬ 
stroyed. From that moment, they were obliged to keep a 
strict watch nightly. Alphonsus was then at Iliceto, and 
far from being discouraged by this barbarous attempt, his 
confidence became greater from having escaped so many 
imminent dangers. Until now, the fathers had lived under 


116 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


the same roof with Contaldi, and were, therefore, placed 
under a continual restraint. At last, on the 24th of Sep¬ 
tember, 1745, they resolved to remove to the new building, 
without heeding the risk they ran from damp and other 
inconveniences. When Alphonsus, at Iliceto, heard of 
their installation, he rejoiced exceedingly, and wrote to 
urge them to a stricter observance of the rule, which had 
been somewhat interrupted by all the previous proceed¬ 
ings, assuring them that God would bless them and make 
them become saints, only inasmuch as they observed the 
rule in its strictness. 

The malcontents, provoked to see them established in 
their new house, again conspired against them, and ob¬ 
tained an order from the council, forbidding them to do any 
thing new. Their intention was thus to interdict their en¬ 
trance into the church of St. Dominic, where they had till 
now, exercised their ministry, and to prevent the comple¬ 
tion of the little church yet in progress of building, hoping 
that by depriving them thus of every opportunity of per¬ 
forming the functions of their ministry, they would force 
them definitely to abandon the foundation. Informed of 
all this, on the evening before the day on which they ex¬ 
pected to receive the formal orders, Father Sportelli be¬ 
sought some gentlemen of Nocera to detain the king’s 
officer for one night only. This was done, as he had de¬ 
sired, and during the night he sent for the workmen, and 
in spite of the protestations of the architect, he boldly 
took away the props, smoothed the earth, erected a por¬ 
table altar, and arranged, as well as he could, a sort of 
confessional. They ornamented the altar and the walls 
with hangings and tapestry, placed garlands and artificial 
dowers about it, and having, the evening before, obtained 
permission to bless the church, at day-break, he celebrated 
mass, preached, confessed, and gave communion to the 
people. During the proceedings, the officer arrived, fol¬ 
lowed by a crowd, and calling for F. Sportelli, and those 
of the household, he declared to them by order of the king, 
that no one must have the temerity to attempt any thing 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


117 


new, at the risk of incurring the penalties mentioned in 
the decree. “We will do nothing new,” replied.F. Spor- 
telli, “ and we will conform to the order you bring, but I 
protest that this edifice is a church ; the Holy Sacrifice has 
been celebrated in it, we have preached in it, and in it the 
holy sacraments have been administered to the people.” 
Thus they were outwitted in their attempt, and hell had to 
yield the victory. 

While Alphonsus was at Iliceto, another circumstance 
occurred to second his zeal for the salvation of the people. 
Benedict XIV, convinced of the great good produced by 
missions, conceived the project of reforming, by means of 
them, the whole kingdom of Naples. By a brief dated the 
8th of September, 1745, he delegated Cardinal Spinelli to 
superintend this work, with full powers to send whom he 
would. Many bishops, upon this, solicited him to send 
into their dioceses Alphonsus and his missionaries, to 
which the Cardinal agreed, well knowing the good they 
did. When the time of the vintage was over, Alphonsus, 
having received the necessary commission from the Car¬ 
dinal, and provided with particular graces from the holy 
Father, began his mission in the diocese of Bovino. At 
Foggia, the capital of the Pouille, a terrible example ot 
divine justice occurred, and served as a powerful warning 
to sinners. One of the Fathers went through the public 
places to call the people to the church. Happening to 
pass before a tavern, he invited the drinkers to take part in 
the mission. A tipsy fellow, holding up his glass, called 
out: “ My Father, would you like to see what is my mis¬ 
sion ?” and putting it to his lips, he instantly dropped 
down dead. Another circumstance which happened, gave 
a high idea of the sanctity of Alphonsus. One evening 
he was preaching before the image of the blessed Virgin of 
Seven Veils, which they had exposed on the altar. When 
he spoke of the glories of the Mother of God, the people 
believed they saw an angel rather than a man. A bright 
ray of light darted from the image, and rested on the coun¬ 
tenance of Alphonsus, who, at the same moment, fell into 


118 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


an ecstasy, and was elevated several feet into the air. At 
this spectacle the people uttered such loud cries of joy, 
that crowds from a distance ran tumultuously towards the 
church. More than four thousand persons witnessed this 
miracle. 

In a rich and commercial town, great numbers of chari¬ 
table persons are to be found. Many purses, therefore, 
were opened to Alphonsus, who earnestly sought out the 
most necessitous. Young girl's were succored, whose 
poverty placed them in danger; others were placed in 
orphan houses. Asylums were procured for repentant 
sinners, and the aged were assisted in their necessities. 
Christian charity reigned in all hearts, and the town was 
delivered from many sources of sin. 

During the mission at Troy, one day, when on the point 
of mounting the pulpit, Alphonsus was told of his father’s 
death. He remained some time in prayer, and then re¬ 
commended him to the prayers of the people. He had 
heard of his illness, but was so much occupied in' his apos¬ 
tolic labors, that he sacrificed the feelings of nature to his 
God, and continued the mission. When at St. Agatha, he 
was seized with fever; but this did not prevent his preach¬ 
ing, and when he appeared in the pulpit, the sight of him 
alone produced compunction in the hearts of the people. 
After this mission, he was called to Iliceto, the Canon 
Casati being dangerously ill. Unable to ride because of 
his fever, he was obliged to take a carriage, and arrived 
the evening before the Canon expired. He had left all he 
possessed to the Most Holy Virgin Mary of Consolation, 
and at his request was buried in the church, at the feet of 
the Virgin. Alphonsus, full of gratitude for his donation, 
celebrated his funeral with the utmost magnificence, and 
had one hundred ducats distributed to the poor. 

From the month of March, 1746, a great drought had 
desolated the Pouille, and the seeds sown were almost de¬ 
stroyed. The inhabitants of Foggia besought Alphonsus 
to give a novena in honor of the Blessed Virgin, knowing 
how much he was beloved by her. He was still at Iliceto, 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


119 


ill of a fever, but when he heard how afflicted they were at 
Foggia, he immediately set out, and was received as an 
angel from heaven. The novena had scarcely commenced, 
when his fever suddenly left him ; the rain fell in abun¬ 
dance, the seed was saved, and produced a rich harvest. 
During his sojourn in this town, God prepared the foun¬ 
dation of another house in the diocese of Conza. The 
Archbishop, Mgr. Nicolai, regretted to see himself at the 
head of a vast province in the greatest want of spiritual 
assistance. When he had learned the services the Con¬ 
gregation had rendered to so many dioceses, h§ sent im¬ 
mediately the archpriest Rossi, to meet Alphonsus J-t 
Foggia. He was by no means anxious to embrace the 
proposal, circumstances not seeming favorable, but at the 
request of F. Villani, he consented to give a mission there, 
in order to see more clearly the will of God. During the 
mission, on the third of June, he went with several gentle¬ 
men to visit the church which was offered him, and which 
bore the name of Mater Domini. He was pleased with 
the situation, being in the midst of an archdiocese, sur¬ 
rounded by many other dioceses in great want of spi¬ 
ritual aid. 

The Archbishop being then at Calabritto, a few miles off, 
Alphonsus went to visit him. Mounted on a mule, he ar¬ 
rived at the house of the family del Plato, where the Arch¬ 
bishop was staying. Hearing he was at dinner, he went 
into a small chapel in a wing of the palace, to say his 
office. While there, the eldest son came to shut the door, 
and seeing a man covered with rags, and with an unshorn 
beard, he took him for a vagabond, who was waiting to 
beg from the Archbishop, and told him to go out, as he 
was about to shut the door. “ Would you have the good¬ 
ness to wait until I finish vespers,” said Alphonsus. “ Go 
out instantly,” said the young man, “ it is only yesterday 
we had a napkin stolen, it would be too much to have 
another stolen to-day.” Alphonsus was forced to go out, 
and finish his vespers in the street. After some time, he 
presented himself at the palace, and the Archbishop, hear- 


120 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


insr of his arrival, came out and received him with every 
mark of esteem. The young del Plato looked confounded, 
and his confusion increased, when he found Alphonsus 
was a noble Neapolitan gentleman, and Superior of a 
mission. Alphonsus appeared not to notice the young 
man’s confusion, but continued the conversation, and after 
having arranged a meeting at Caposele, he returned in 
time for the evening sermon. 

God showered down many benedictions on this mission. 
The humility, the modesty, the contempt of himself, shown 
by Alphonsus, touched all hearts as much as his sermons. 
At this time he suffered such violent tooth-ache as to 
cause convulsions. Notwithstanding this, one evening he 
spoke for two hours, and at last overpowered by fatigue, 
he had to be carried home, from total inability to walk. 
Generally, in his sermons, he seemed to be ravished out of 
himself, and one evening, while he preached, God made 
him see in spirit what was passing at Iliceto. “ We are 
occupied here with ihe mission,” he said, “ and at this 
moment the devil is tormenting my poor children at Ili¬ 
ceto.” Next morning, a lay-brother came to see him, and 
spoke with him for three hours of the miseries they were 
enduring there. 

The Archbishop came to Caposele, and arrived during 
a sermon on the blessed Virgin. He was so much touched 
that he wept, and determined to assist daily at the sermons. 
The archpriest Rossi arrived at this time, with several 
other gentlemen, who resolved on contributing towards 
the establishment of the Congregation there. All seemed 
to go well, but it was necessary that the devil should at¬ 
tempt to overturn it. A party among the clergy, addressed 
to the Archbishop a protestation against the new project. 
When Alphonsus heard of this, he said: “I like to see op¬ 
position, it is a mark that the devil apprehends defeat, but 
God will triumph.” When the Archbishop went to the 
hermitage, accompanied by the gentlemen friendly to the 
measure, a priest, a very learned man, who had great in¬ 
fluence with both clergy and people, attended to oppose the 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


121 


foundation in the name of the chapter. Having entered 
the church to visit the Blessed Virgin, as he approached 
the altar dedicated to the divine Mother, he was struck 
with apoplexy, and his mouth was twisted on one side. He 
recognised the just punishment, and turning towards the 
Virgin, said : “ Mother of my God, I protest that I have no 
longerthe intention of opposingthe foundation.” No sooner 
had he uttered these words, than he recovered, and his mouth 
resumed its natural position. He immediately joined the 
others, and far from resisting, he now secomled the pro¬ 
posal with all his eloquence. On the 4th of June, 1746, 
the establishment of the Congregation was decided upon. 
When the news spread at Caposele, that the missionaries 
were to be established in the diocese, every one testified 
the most unbounded joy. A noble family in the neighbor¬ 
hood put their forests at their disposal, to supply the wood 
for the buildings. The inhabitants had another consola¬ 
tion in the fulfilment of the prophecy of St. John Joseph 
of the Cross, that at the end of twenty years, a devout and 
zealous community of missionaries would be established 
among them. The twenty years had just expired. 

In Pagani, they were not yet left unmolested. The 
Grand Council having repulsed them, Contaldi tried to 
obtain satisfaction from the commissary of the king, and 
this magistrate, being deceived, had ordered the sequestra¬ 
tion of certain rents that had been assigned to them, and 
that they should be given to others. To embroil matters 
still more, Contaldi made to a priest who was related to 
him, a donation of a certain property he had already given 
to the missionaries, and by these measures ceased not to 
keep them in continual disquiet. Alphonsus could not 
see without sorrow the vexations his companions had to 
endure, but this did not lessen his zeal; he continued to give 
missions in the country round about, which were always 
attended with the greatest success, vice disappearing, and 
virtue reigning in its stead. 

Towards the end of December, 1746, Foggia invited 
him again, and he eagerly yielded to the request; but on 

M 


122 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


his arrival, he found that a theatre with foreign come¬ 
dians had been opened, and that certain gentlemen had 
bound themselves to support it. This new occasion of sin 
grieved him exceedingly, and he did all in his power to 
engage them to send the comedians away, but without 
success; upon which he left the town, and when they 
would persuade him to stay, he replied: “ We cannot at 
the same time serve God and the devil. Foggia will not 
listen to me, but God will lay his heavy hand upon her, and 
chastise her for her libertinism.” Scarcely had he departed, 
when the town was shaken with a violent earthquake ; they 
sent after him, but he would not return at that time. 

The building of the new house at Caposele was now 
begun, and carried on with great ardor. On the 1st of 
May, 1748, the first stone was blessed by Mgr. Amati, and 
the gentlemen commenced to superintend the different 
works, each placing himself at the head of a division, and 
in the evening arranging the work for the next day. The 
Blessed Virgin deigned to testify her approbation of this 
establishment, and to show in a special manner, that the 
missionaries were her children. There lived in a neigh¬ 
boring village a wretched being, loaded with sin, who had 
for three years been confined to bed by a most painful 
illness; every night he saw the devil, under the form of a 
goat, place himself on his breast, and press his throat and 
his sides until he was almost choked. One morning when 
he awoke, he saw the Blessed Virgin appear in his cham¬ 
ber, radiant with glory, and accompanied by two angels. 
“ My son,” she said to him, “ how hast thou still the 
boldness to live in sin? quickly change thy life ; to-mor¬ 
row thou shalt see my children of the house of Mater 
Domini. Confess, and repent of thy sins, and Jesus will 
pardon thee.” The vision disappeared, and the sinner felt 
re-animated, but without knowing what to think of what 
he had heard, for he knew nothing of the mission, nor of 
the establishment at Caposele. Next day, he heard the 
bells ringing, and on asking what it was, they replied that 
the missionaries had arrived ; full of joy. he said he must 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


123 


see one of them instantly. F. Matthew Criscuolo went to 
him, when he related what had occurred, and made his 
confession amid torrents of tears. The father asked him if 
he had been in the habit of practising any devotion to the 
Blessed Virgin; he replied, that he had made a vow to 
recite the Rosary daily, and that he had never omitted it. 
He died during the mission, giving evident signs of a 
true repentance. 

Until now, the Congregation had not had a regular no¬ 
vitiate. Hitherto they had received only clerics, who had, 
in a manner, been professed before they became novices, 
subdeacons only being admitted ; and these made their 
novitiate in following Alphonsus from village to village. A 
year before, they had decided on admitting young men of 
eighteen, as being less filled with the spirit of the world, 
and consequently more ready to receive the impressions of 
grace. Alphonsus then thought of establishing the novi¬ 
tiate in the house of Uiceto, but because of the extreme 
poverty of this house, the young people were discouraged, 
looked back, and withdrew their hand from the plough, 
some even, not having the courage to declare their weak¬ 
ness to F. Cafaro, who was master of novices, fled secretly, 
escaping by the windows, as the door was shut. Afflicted 
by the inconveniences of this house, and the inconstancy 
of the novices, he removed the novitiate toCiorani, the 1st 
of February, 1748. God blessed the arrangement, and 
there were soon twenty novices under F. Villani, whose 
conduct caused great consolation to Alphonsus. 

It was at Iliceto Alphonsus first began to write and pub¬ 
lish. Until then he had labored only for the countries in 
which he was placed, but this was a field too narrow for 
his burning zeal. He wished that all Christians should 
profit by the reflections he had made. He had long been 
groaning over the indifference of men, and their estrange¬ 
ment from the adorable mystery of the Eucharist; he re¬ 
solved to publish the sentiments with which he was pene¬ 
trated towards the Beloved of his soul, and arrange them 
in the form of visits for each day of the month, and as his 


124 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


affection for the most Holy Virgin was only inferior to that 
he bore to her Son, he published also his sentiments of 
affection for her, in order to induce the faithful to love and 
(serve her. This little work was every where received with 
applause, and fully answered the purpose for which it was 
intended, for before long, almost every one had it in his 
hands, not only in the kingdom of Naples, but throughout 
Italy. In 1777, Alphonsus received a French translation 
of it, taken from the fiftieth Italian edition. Next he pub¬ 
lished another little work, entitled “Reflections and Af¬ 
fections on the Passion of Jesus Christ.” Since he had 
embraced the ecclesiastical state, he had taken St. Theresa 
for his special advocate, and often in his spiritual wants 
had experienced the efficacy of her intercession. .Desirous 
to see her honored, he published several meditations, in 
form of a Novena, in which were comprised all the beautiful 
things that could be said in her praise. In order to awaken 
the Bishops, he composed a little work on the precise obli¬ 
gations of the episcopate, which he transmitted to all the 
bishops in Italy, many of whom wrote to him, thanking 
him and complimenting him on the occasion. About this 
time also, he had publicly proclaimed his opinion regarding 
certain cases of conscience. This gave offence to a priest 
belonging to a religious house in the Pouille, who, instead 
of discussing the subject, wrote to him thus: “Who art 
thou, who comest out of the woods, with the pretension of 
making thyself Doctor, and giving laws to others?” And 
having nothing else to say, he treated him as a heretic, and 
accused him of condemning vocal prayer. Alphonsus 
replied, and, having abundantly refuted the falsehood, fin¬ 
ished his letter, by thanking his accuser for the advice he 
had given him, without testifying the least resentment. 

When the missions in the Pouille were finished, Al¬ 
phonsus went in April, 1747, to Ciorani; there he found 
the novitiate filled with virtuous young men and priests, 
eminent for learning and sanctity. He then returned to 
Pagani, where he found the church frequented by persons 
of all conditions, the pious practices taught by the Con- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


125 


gregation existing in all their vigor, and a confraternity of 
artkarrs, among whom were found persons eminent for 
their sanctity. The success of the two houses was a sub¬ 
ject of great consolation for him, makipg him shed tears 
of joy. But, remembering that the argument constantly 
brought forward by his adversaries was, that the Congre¬ 
gation was not authorized by the king, in order to deprive 
them of this pretext and insure the existence of the houses 
already founded, he resolved on going to Naples, deter¬ 
mined, in spite of every difficulty, to obtain the necessary 
authorization. 

Arriving at Naples in the month of June, he immedi¬ 
ately addressed himself to the Marquis Brancone, Minister 
of State. Before he would hear him say a word, the Mar¬ 
quis first announced his determination of making him a 
Bishop. Alphonsus, confounded by the proposition, said: 
“ If you love me, never again speak to me of such a thing. 
I have abjured the world; its dignities can only inspire me 
with horror.” He said, besides, so much, that at length the 
Marquis promised to torment him no more on this subject. 
After having recommended to him the interests of the 
Congregation, he addressed himself to the Chamberlain, to 
obtain for him an audience of the king. He had not long 
to wait; for one day as he was walking in the cloisters of 
St. Catherine, occupied in saying his office, he was told 
the king waited for him. He wore then, as usual, an old 
patched cassock, and his beard unshaven ; it was, however, 
in this miserable condition, that he ran in all haste to the 
palaee. Introduced to his Majesty, he exposed to him the 
multitude of souls deprived of spiritual succor, how ar¬ 
dently he desired to remedy such an evil, the zeal with 
which his companions burned, and the reforms they had 
already produced in so many dioceses; but that the mis¬ 
sionaries could not sustain themselves in a position so 
precarious, and being daily engaged in struggles which 
threatened their existence, it was necessary that his Ma¬ 
jesty should now recognise their institute for a regular 
Congregation. He presented to his Majesty the rules of 
11 * 


126 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


the Institute, explaining them in a few words. The heart 
of the pious monarch was touched ; he took notes with 
his own hand, and placed the rules, with the petition, in 
the hands of Mgr. Celestine Guliano, his grand almoner, 
recommending him to examine them and make his report 
without delay. 

F. Vincent Mandarini, Superior of the Congregation 
of the Most Holy Sacrament, soon learned what was going 
on, and more anxious than ever for a re-union, went to 
Ciorani, and in the name of himself and his companions, 
offered to embrace unreservedly the rule of Alphonsus, 
and to submit to his authority. Alphonsus refused to 
agree to this. “ He who has been accustomed to possess 
and to command, will have much repugnance to see him¬ 
self poor and deprived of his liberty. To-day, before he 
makes the vow of obedience, he is ready to sacrifice his 
own will; but once bound, he will begin to repent of hav¬ 
ing submitted his opinion to another. You are sincere in 
wishing to submit to me, but be sure, to-morrow your fervor 
will yield on reflection; the remembrance of your liberty 
will torment you and your brethren, and the contagion of 
insubordination and regret would seize upon my own 
Congregation. It is thus misfortune would menace two 
communities, and we ought to guard against this.” Thus 
repulsed by Alphonsus, Mandarini applied to the grand 
almoner, and through influential persons, persuaded him 
to endeavor to promote the re-union. The grand almoner 
represented to Alphonsus, that he ought not to reject the 
proposal, and on his explaining to him the motives which 
inclined him to refuse, the almoner cut him short by saying : 
* ( I wish it.” Although much alarmed, Alphonsus did not 
give up hope, but doubting his own judgment, he had re¬ 
course to prayer, yielding himself entirely to the will of 
God. 

At the same time, he began to look about for some influ¬ 
ential person, who would interfere in his favor with the king 
and the grand almoner. He was often not well received ; 
many refused him an audience, and others listened coldly; 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


127 


and if he was received once, he was refused admittance 
when he came again. One day he had with difficulty been 
permitted, by the valets of a certain prince, to wait in the 
ante-chamber, when the princess, who knew him, happened 
to pass. Seeing him so poor and ragged in appearance, 
she exclaimed: “ How dirty you are!” “ I do not under¬ 
stand you,” said AJphonsus. “Ah, then,” she said, turn¬ 
ing her back upon him, “ you are from Calabria.” Many 
others received him, however, with marks of profound re¬ 
spect ; in either case, he was unmoved, always calm and 
serene. 

Notwithstanding all the pains taken by Alphonsus, the 
grand almoner declared on the 21st of August, against his 
petition for authorization. This declaration afflicted Al¬ 
phonsus, yet he did not lose courage. He put his confi¬ 
dence in God, and tried to obtain from heaven what man 
refused. The different houses of the Congregation com¬ 
menced regular prayers, masses were said, and they ex¬ 
posed the Blessed Sacrament in the evening. Many re¬ 
ligious houses united with them in prayer, while they them¬ 
selves redoubled their penances and mortifications. Al¬ 
phonsus went five times to obtain an audience of the 
almoner, but was always refused. He went a sixth time, 
and was at last admitted, when he knew so well how to 
plead his cause, that his Lordship could not refuse prom¬ 
ising to protect him. He, in consequence, placed before 
the king what he considered the advantages that would re¬ 
sult from authorizing the Congregation ; but in the event 
of its being authorized, he wished them to unite with that 
of Mandarini. Upon this point the council of state was 
divided, and also upon certain other conditions not very 
satisfactory, so that at last it was decided the affair should 
stand over, and continue to rest on its present precarious 
basis. Alphonsus, learning this decision, bowed his head, 
adoring the will of God, and only said: “Fiat voluntas 
tua.” That night he was unable to sleep. The king re¬ 
gretted this decision, and in order to comfort him, sent a 
message by the Marquis Brancone, bidding him rest as- 


128 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


sured of his protection, and continue to labor with the 
same zeal to promote the glory of God and the good ot 
the state. Mandarini on the other hand, ceased to insist 
on the union of the two Congregations. 

Alphonsus made yet another attempt in favor of the 
Congregation, but it also fell to the ground. He explained 
to the king the impossibility of giving missions in many 
parts of the country where the spiritual destitution was 
great, because of their own poverty, and the poverty of the 
people, and requested his majesty to make them some 
allowance for the purpose. “The demand is just,” said 
the king, “ we must try to furnish them with some sub¬ 
sidy.” It was accordingly arranged, that they should have 
the surplus revenues of the chapels of the Castelle de 
Sangro in the Abruzzi; but the individuals who had the 
management, pretended there were no surplus revenues; 
they consequently got nothing. 

During his stay at Naples, he devoted himself to every 
work that could promote the glory of God, and husbanded 
his time so well, that not a moment was lost. He often 
went, at the request of the director of the seminary, to 
animate the young people by his exhortations. He fre¬ 
quently visited convents of nuns, who desired to have the 
affairs of their conscience regulated by him, and gave re¬ 
treats in different monasteries. He often visited also the 
college of the Holy Family, established to promote the 
conversion of China, delighting to animate the young men 
with love for Jesus Christ, and zeal for the salvation of 
souls. But while he was enjoying these delightful labors, 
a storm was preparing to overtake him. The church of 
Palermo became vacant in the July of this year by the 
death of Mgr. Rossi, and his Majesty insisted that Al¬ 
phonsus should succeed him in that see, saying to Marquis 
Brancone : “ The Pope makes good promotions, but I will 
make one still better than the Pope.” The Marquis was 
pleased with the election, and applauded it as a divine in¬ 
spiration, and having sent for Alphonsus, made known to 
him his Majesty’s determination. He was, as it were, 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


129 


thunderstruck, and with tears begged him to return his 
grateful thanks to the king for the honor he proposed con¬ 
ferring on him, but to explain the vow he had made to 
refuse all dignities, and the ruin it would cause, were he 
to abandon his brethren at such a juncture. The Marquis, 
seeing the affliction of Alphonsus, entered into his feelings, 
and promised to help him with the king; but the prince 
would take no refusal. This alarmed Alphonsus; he fore¬ 
saw the king would be supported by the Pope, and the 
thought of being forced to accept the dignity, left him no 
repose by night or by day, and he wrote to F. Cafaro, his 
director, that he would sooner conceal himself in the depth 
of the forest, than be made bishop. He wrote at the same 
time to all the houses of the Congregation to pray for him, 
and had recourse to many holy souls and religious houses 
to help him by their prayers, while he redoubted his aus¬ 
terities and penances. During the whole month the king 
persevered in his resolution, Alphonsus was in a continual 
fright. At length the Marquis succeeded in persuading his 
Majesty, that he w r as far more useful as a missionary, than he 
ever could be as Archbishop of Palermo; and he conse¬ 
quently abandoned his resolution, though with much regret. 

Alphonsus had left Naples to go to Ciorani for a few 
days, when, immediately on his return, he was requested to 
preach the Novena of the Assumption in the church of 
St. John Major. Although unprepared, he had not the 
courage to refuse, and the result was as miraculous as 
usual. Each of his sermons occupied not less than one 
hour and a half. During this Novena, thousands of souls 
awoke from sin, and penetrated with a lively repentance, 
returned to God. Towards the end of September, he re¬ 
turned to Nocera. 

We ought not to omit here two instances of the true 
apostolical liberty of Alphonsus, both of which happened 
during his stay at Naples. The ^Superior of the Apostolic 
Mission had invited him to give a retreat. During his 
discourses on this occasion, he spoke to them of the obli¬ 
gation they were under to make known Christ crucified, 


130 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


and not to preach to make themselves known. He con¬ 
demned the measured style and far-fetched expressions 
which some made use of, above all, when treating of moral 
subjects, or the lives of the Saints. He spoke with vehe¬ 
mence against a celebrated preacher lately dead, who, he 
said, by his manner of preaching had showed himself an 
enemy of souls and a traitor to the word of God; and he 
blamed some among them who strove to imitate him. “ Fill 
your discourses,” he said, “ with evangelical truths, without 
embarrassing yourselves with vain ornaments, which pro¬ 
duce no fruit, but exhaust the preacher in seeking for 
them.” This language offended some of the young mis¬ 
sionaries at first, but afterwards they recognized the truth 
of what he had said, and were filled with a salutary con¬ 
fusion. At another time, he was celebrating mass in the 
church of the Fathers of the Oratory; when, turning to¬ 
wards the assistant to give communion, he observed a 
gentleman seated in the choir with his legs crossed. After 
having said: “Agnus Dei,” and seeing this person still 
sitting and showing no sign of reverence towards the 
Holy Sacrament, he exclaimed: “Have you lost the use of 
your limbs, that you cannot kneel ?” The gentleman, quite 
confused, immediately knelt, but excessively provoked, he 
began to cough and make different noises until the end of 
mass, when he ran hastily to the sacristy to ask what 
wretched priest had said mass; but when he heard the 
name of Alphonsus de Liguori, he felt greatly ashamed. 

At the beginning of the year 1748, Alphonsus returned 
to Naples. Marquis Brancone then informed him, that the 
king was dissatisfied, that the council of state had refused 
his request, and advised him to take advantage of the fa¬ 
vorable feelings of the monarch towards him, and obtain a 
subsidy for the Congregation. Instead of this, Alphonsus 
presented a new petition to obtain the confirmation of his 
institute, saying to the Marquis, that he wished for nothing 
else; a mark of disinterestedness which pleased him, and 
induced him to present the petition himself to the king; 
but the political views which directed Tanueci, the then 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


131 


minister, did not accord with the pious views of the king, 
and again the business fell to the ground. 

He was scarcely twelve days in Naples, when he was 
seized with an asthma so violent that he could not speak, 
and was almost dead. He was unable to say mass for 
some weeks, and had to keep his bed, yet, he nevertheless 
continued to give advice and consolation to those who 
came to him on affairs of conscience ; the house was never 
empty. Immediately after his recovery, he began again to 
preach and give spiritual exercises. It was about this time 
that he became the object of a very malicious calumny. 
When speaking one day of the extreme goodness shown 
by our Saviour in the Sacrament of the altar, where he is 
always ready to give audience, he used the following 
words of St. Theresa: “It is not thus with kings on earth; 
they give audience only a few times in the course of the 
year, and how much it costs one to obtain an audience ! 
And then no one can speak as he would wish to do, nor 
with the same confidence with which all may go to Jesus 
Christ in this sacrament, and at any moment.” A certain 
person present construed these words into an insult to 
the king, and to ingratiate himself with his majesty, added 
all that his wickedness could suggest, and represented Al- 
phonsus as a man discontented with the king, and who 
would misrepresent him to his subjects. The accusation 
was listened to by Marquis Tanucci, who, being unac¬ 
quainted with his integrity, threatened to banish him from 
Naples. The affair became public, and Alphonsus was 
looked upon as a guilty person about to be banished for 
disrespect to his sovereign. It was not until six days after, 
that he heard of all this. He went immediately to the 
Cardinal, to implore his protection, and then to Marquis 
Brancone, both of whom, convinced of his respect for his 
sovereign, bade him continue his apostolic labors, and fear 
nothing, assuring him that the king knew him too well to 
lend an ear to such a report. They both spoke to Tanucci, 
who was soon undeceived, and from that time held him in 
the highest esteem and veneration. 


13*2 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


Through Marquis Brancone he obtained another audi¬ 
ence of the king, when he strove to convince him of the 
necessity of his approbation for the new-born Congrega¬ 
tion, in order to sustain it against the attacks of its ene¬ 
mies. The king, pleased with all he heard, dismissed him, 
bidding him take courage and rely upon his protection. 
Before leaving Naples, he was requested to give a retreat in 
the barracks at Pizzofalconi, which he opened on the 28th 
of March. Prince Castropignano assisted with the state 
major and many other cavaliers. When the prince saw the 
effect produced on the officers, he besought him to give 
the spiritual exercises also to the men. He consented, and 
gave two hours more to the soldiers, although he suffered 
much from the excessive cold of the church. On the 7th 
of April, the exercises terminated ; scandals had disap¬ 
peared from among the soldiers, blasphemies were no 
longer heard, taverns were deserted, and lewd women 
banished from their-quarters. He procured for them books 
of devotion, and as they could not afford to purchase them, 
he furnished a little library for them. The effects pro¬ 
duced on the officers were still greater, and five among 
them quitted the service, and entered religious houses. 

The Congregation at Nocera was still agitated by the 
tempest, when an event occurred which brought peace at 
last to the Community. A Dean in the neighborhood, 
who had been prejudiced against them, one evening, when 
he was returning home, was beaten on the head with some 
sharp instrument by one of his relatives, for having often 
remonstrated with him because of the irregularities of his 
life. He was carried into a neighboring convent appa¬ 
rently dying, which when F. Mazzini heard, he ran in all 
haste to render him assistance, and continued to assist 
him with the utmost care until he was convalescent. The 
other fathers were also assiduous in their attention to him, 
and such was the change produced on his mind, that he 
could think of nothing but how to recompense their ser¬ 
vices. His conduct disconcerted the malcontents, and he, 
in concert with Mgr. Volpe, labored to disabuse the Supe- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


133 


riors of religious houses and the few priests who still 
stood out against them, and peace was shortly restored. 
The generosity of Alphonsus soon consolidated it. In 
the month of October, the king’s council had decided in 
his favor, and against Contaldi. Alphonsus, having the tran¬ 
quillity of the Congregation more at heart than its tempo¬ 
ral interests, succeeded in persuading the Bishop to allow 
him to resign at once the donation made by Contaldi, only 
requesting him, as a favor, to pay a debt of nine hundred 
ducats, contracted in building. This disinterested con¬ 
duct gained him more than ever the esteem of good men. 
and as for the Dean, he could never cease expressing his 
admiration; he came to make a retreat at Ciorani, and 
ever after continued to be a powerful protector of the In¬ 
stitute in every emergency. Mgr. Volpe contributed much 
to the establishment of peace. A just appreciator of the 
merits of Alphonsus and his children, he frequented the 
house, and consulted the missionaries on all occasions of 
difficulty. He gave audiences in their house. He ordered 
a great number to come to it for spiritual exercises, to be 
instructed in the rubrics, or to reform their conduct. The 
esteem thus shown by the Bishop, ended in conciliating 
the respect and veneration of their greatest enemies. 

After his return from Naples to Ciorani, Alphonsus, in¬ 
vited by the people and neighboring curates, continued 
his warfare against the strongholds of Satan, in every di¬ 
rection, and with his accustomed success. In October he 
returned to Naples, not having been able to comply, on his 
last visit, with all the demands made upon him. He com¬ 
menced by opening a mission in the church of St. Anna 
de-Palazzo, in which numbers were converted who had 
never approached the tribunal of penance, and it seemed 
as if he had only to cast the net, to receive the miraculous 
draught of fishes. After this he was sent for to preach 
penance in the suburb of St. Anthony, to which, on a 
former occasion, through the endeavors of F. Sarnelli and 
partially of himself, the unfortunate women of the town 
had been compelled to withdraw. His labors were not 
12 


134 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


unfruitful; many of these poor creatures, touched by grace, 
began to detest their crimes; numbers were placed in 
houses of refuge, others were taken care of by charitable 
persons; besides, a great number of young girls were saved, 
who, though not yet engaged in the ways of sin, were pre¬ 
paring for it. He also visited and preached in many 
houses of religious women, while many, both of the priest¬ 
hood and laity, daily came to him for instruction and ad¬ 
vice, so that he had difficulty in finding leisure to recite 
his office and perform his other devotional exercises. 

Cardinal Spinelli desired him to give a retreat in the ca¬ 
thedral, during which the church could scarcely contain 
the multitude. An eye-witness has remarked, that eternity 
only can disclose the wonders of grace then operated, and 
this even among many professed infidels. At length Al- 
phonsus departed for the country, to distribute the bread 
of eternal life to the more destitute. At the town ofVietri, 
a man renowned for his infidelity, went one day into the 
church, for the purpose, he said, of criticising his sermon. 
He had not listened long, when entering into himself he 
recognised his deplorable condition, and full of repentance, 
detested his former blindness. “ The sermons of other 
preachers,” said he, “speak but to the mind; but the 
sermons of F. Alphonsus penetrate to the heart.” He 
immediately went to confession, and persevered to the end. 


CHAPTER XV. 

Alphonsus obtains the approbation of his Congregation at 
Rome. He holds the first General Chapter, and is elected 
Rector Major. Difficulties with some subjects. Other 
difficulties in Maples. He publishes his Moral Theology. 

E NCOURAGED by the pious disposition of the king, 
and having obtained for his Congregation the support 
of so many Bishops, Alphonsus determined to apply for 
approbation to the Pope. He addressed a petition to Ben- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


135 


edict XIV, by the hand of Mgr. Puoti, a prelate whom his 
Holiness honored with his particular friendship. The 
Pope ordered at once Cardinal Gentili, prefect of the Con¬ 
gregation of the Council of Trent, to charge Cardinal Spi- 
nelli to take information and declare his sentiment on the 
subject. His Eminence asked for the rules, and gave them 
to the Canon Simede, and his auditor, the Abbe Blaschi, 
for examination. All three admired the wisdom with 
which every thing had been arranged. The Cardinal, 
however, wished some alterations, viz. with regard to fast¬ 
ing, fearing for the health of the subjects, when undergo¬ 
ing so much fatigue, and then with regard to the number 
of consultors, wishing to have the number limited to six, 
instead of twelve, which number Alphonsus had deter¬ 
mined upon, to imitate the College of the Twelve Apostles. 

When he was thus assured of the approbation of Car¬ 
dinal Spinelli, every one advised Alphonsus to go himself 
to Rome, but he concealed his humility under the pretence 
of his infirmities, and confided the whole affair to the man¬ 
agement of F. Villani, who was accompanied by another 
Father. Many Bishops, besides those in whose dioceses 
the Congregation was established, wrote to give them fa¬ 
vorable testimony at the court of Rome; and they had 
letters from the most distinguished personages to the Car¬ 
dinal Orsini, and the Duke of Tora. The general of the 
the Order of St. Basil, and the missionaries of St. Vincent 
of Paul, exerted themselves also in their favor, and the 
Abbot of another religious house gave them great assist¬ 
ance. Cardinal Bisozzi was named Reporter; they had 
wished for Cardinal Orsini, but Cardinal Gentili, the prefect, 
said to F. Villani, that by this appointment he secured for 
them a man of still more weight, and when Orsini was 
told of it, he remarked : “ You have now two instead of 
one,” and afterwards went himself to deliver the request 
into Bisozzi’s hands. 

When the rule was presented to the Sacred Congrega¬ 
tion, they retrenched, as superfluous, the vow of placing 
themselves at the disposal of the Pope, to be sent, whenever 


136 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


lie should be pleased, to preach to the heathen. “We sup¬ 
pose,” said the Cardinal, “ that all religious orders are al¬ 
ways ready to obey the first signal given by the Holy Fa¬ 
ther.” Besides, Alphonsus, in order to take from his Con¬ 
gregation the means of amassing wealth, having fixed that 
the rents of no house should exceed the sum of twelve 
hundred ducats, the Cardinals, though admiring his mode¬ 
ration, fixed the maximum at fifteen hundred for ordinary 
houses, and two thousand for the house of novices and stu¬ 
dents, in consideration of unforeseen expenses that might 
come upon them. They were satisfied with every thing 
else, and full of admiration for the rule, they unanimously 
approved it. But the devil would not allow things to pro¬ 
ceed without his interference. The auditor of Cardinal 
Bisozzi, having read the approbation of Cardinal Spi- 
nelli, which exalted the great good done by the Institute, 
and its utility to the kingdom, pretended that this meant it 
should be confined to the kingdom of Naples. But the 
Cardinal, having been consulted, said that Alphonsus had 
not applied to the Pope for the kingdom of Naples only, 
but to obtain his sanction for the Congregation throughout 
the whole Church. “ It is but just,” he added, “ that a 
work of so much magnitude should be universal.” 

Although all was in train, nothing was yet decreed. 
At length, towards the end of February, (1749,) F. Villani 
went to Cardinal Orsini, who said to him : “ Be comforted, 
this morning the Sacred Congregation has had one of the 
most difficult conferences.” “ But,” said F. Villani, “what 
cannot be done in the Congregation, might it not be done in 
the house of the Cardinal Prefect ?” “ True,” said the Car¬ 
dinal, “ and I will go to him immediately, for I have some¬ 
thing to say to him that concerns myself.” “ If you would 
succeed in your affairs,” replied Villani, “begin by speak¬ 
ing of mine.” “ Depend on it,” said the Cardinal, “and 
since you say so, recommend my business to God with 
yours.” That same day, the decree of approbation was 
given, and the Cardinal, with his own hand, wrote to 
inform Villani of the news. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


137 


F. Villani being presented to the Pope to thank him for 
his approbation, and ask the confirmation of it, his Holi¬ 
ness inquired for the decree. He replied that it was an¬ 
nexed to the rule. “That is what I wish to examine,” 
said the Pope. The following day he read the decree and 
rule. He was particularly pleased to find that the offices 
of Rector Major and his Counsellors were perpetual. “ It 
is this,” said he, “ that hinders parties and divisions, so 
often met with among regulars.” Seeing that the Congre¬ 
gation bore the name of the Holy Saviour, and reflecting 
that there was a Congregation established at Venice, which 
already bore that name, he wished them to take the title of 
the “ Most Holy Redeemer.” The Pope named also Al- 
phonsus perpetual Superior of the Congregation. Hearing 
of this, Alphonsus wrote from Ciorani to beseech them to 
obtain for him deliverance from so heavy a burden, express¬ 
ing in the humblest terms his weakness and incapacity for 
sustaining such a charge. F. Villani wrote to him re¬ 
peatedly on'the necessity and propriety of continuing Rec¬ 
tor. In one of his last letters on the subject, he says : 
“ Since your Reverence is named perpetual Rector, it is 
necessary to have patience and submit to the yoke. My 
Father, speak no more on the subject; I believe you are 
bound by duty, by justice, and by gratitude.” 

There had been still another attempt made to crush the 
affair at Rome. A respectable Congregation at Naples, 
beheld with a jealous eye the success of Alphonsus and 
his Congregation, and sent with all haste one of its mem¬ 
bers to Rome to oppose him as much as possible; but he 
could do nothing. The same institute sent another Father 
for the same purpose, but he wrote back that he had come 
too late, for every thing was already concluded to the great 
satisfaction of both Pope and Cardinals. But if the au¬ 
thor of evil could not hinder the Holy Father from giving 
his approbation, he tried at least to paralyze it. We have 
already seen that the Sacred Congregation approved the 
rules and the Institute. Now, the person charged with the 
arrangement of the minutes, having been gained by the 
12 * 


138 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


friends of the envoy mentioned above, wrote, “ Regula et 
non Institutum.” But the Pope, when the decree was 
presented to him, seeing the ruse, was very indignant, and 
taking the pen in his own hand, wrote, “Regula et Insti- 
tutum,” so that, to the confusion of the malevolent, Al- 
phonsus had the satisfaction of receiving from Rome, on 
the 25th of February, 1749, the confirmation of the Rule 
and the Institute. When he received this news, he burst 
into tears of joy, and cast himself with his face to the 
earth, all the others present following his example. After 
having in this posture thanked God for his mercies, they 
rang the bell of the community, when, all proceeding to 
the church, the Te Deum was chanted, after which AI- 
phonsus exhorted all to correspond to so great a grace, by 
redoubled fervor in the exact observance of the rule, and in 
love towards Jesus Christ and his holy Mother Mary. 

The approbation of the Institute made a great noise at 
Rome ; they spoke of nothing but the new Congregation 
of missionaries approved by the Pope, of the fervor which 
reigned among them, and the great good they did. In con¬ 
sequence of this, a great number of subjects, distinguished 
for their virtue as well as for their science, applied to 
be admitted into the order. Two curates renounced their 
benefices and quitted Rome for Ciorani. About the same 
time, the Abbot mentioned before, as having been useful in 
obtaining the approbation of the rule, wished also to be 
admitted. He was a man of great merit, profoundly versed 
in science, divine and human. Though Alphonsus had 
made it a rule never to admit into his Congregation any 
regular, nor any one who had ever lived in community, yet 
in consideration of the distinguished merit of the Abbot, 
and the services he had rendered to the Congregation, he 
made no difficulty in receiving him. The Pope, by a brief, 
agreed to, and even encouraged, this determination, and the 
Abbot, after having, with the consent of Alphonsus, made 
the vows prescribed by the rule, to Cardinal Orsini, at the 
feet of St. Peter in the Vatican, laid aside his insignia, took 
the habit, and departed for Ciorani. When it became known 


LIFE OF ST. A.LPHONSUS. 


139 


at Naples that the Congregation was confirmed by the 
Pope, a great many excellent young men and distinguished 
priests, presented themselves also for admission. The 
* prince of Castellaneta, D. Matthias Miroballo, of Aragon, 
renewed his solicitation to be admitted, but Alphonsus be¬ 
lieved himself bound to refuse him. F. Mandarini again 
began to solicit a re-union, but he refused again to yield to 
his entreaties, as also to those of his subjects who requested 
individually to be received. 

In the month of October of the same year, Alphonsus 
held his first General Chapter. At the opening of it, he 
invited all the members, through F. Cafaro, who opened 
the meeting, to accept the rules, and to proceed to a formal 
election to all the offices in general, and in order that the 
suffrages might be free, that each one should first divest 
himself of the office he held. All obeyed, and although 
the Pope had confirmed him in the perpetual Rectorship, 
he was the first to give the example, and kneeling in the 
midst of the chapter, laid down his authority, humbling 
himself before them, and asking pardon for all that had 
been amiss in his past conduct. Afterwards, that they 
might recommend themselves to God, he suggested that all 
should make a retreat of three days, and above all, he in¬ 
sisted that, in electing the Rector Major, they should vote 
for him whom before God they thought best qualified to 
fill the office; in short, he neglected no means for exempt¬ 
ing himself of the burden. The rules were read, and all 
joyfully accepted them, and renewed the vows of poverty, 
chastity and obedience, with the oath of persevering in the 
Congregation until death. After the three days’ retreat, 
they proceeded to the nomination of the Rector Major, and 
at the first scrutiny Alphonsus was unanimously elected 
for life. He adored the judgment of God, thanked the as¬ 
sembly who deigned thus to honor him, and submitting to 
the divine will, again took up the heavy burden. They 
proceeded then to the election to all the other charges and 
offices, and established the necessary regulations for the no¬ 
vitiate, as also for the house for studies, determining the 


140 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


system and authors to be followed in the teaching of belles- 
lettres, philosophy, and theology. The chapter finished 
by appointing the F. Abbot professor of philosophy and 
theology, for which office his vast erudition rendered him 
eminently qualified. 

It was during the sitting of the chapter, that the heart of 
Alphonsus, saddened at the temporal poverty in which they 
were plunged, was gladdened by the determination of some 
gentlemen of Pagani. They had seen, some months be¬ 
fore, the young students walking in the neighborhood, and 
from their modesty and good behaviour, formed a very 
favorable judgment of the Institute. They earnestly re¬ 
quested him to transfer the students to the house at Pa¬ 
gani, promising that if the Congregation would not support 
the expense, they would willingly contribute to it them¬ 
selves. Alphonsus consented to this, and they all sub¬ 
scribed certain annual sums, and Dominic de Mayo, the 
Dean, signalised himself among them by his generosity. 
The Bishop also contributed largely, taking the greatest 
interest in the education of the students. 

When all was regulated for the interior of the Congre¬ 
gation, Alphonsus recommenced in the autumn his course 
of missions. At the opening of the Jubilee in 1750, Mgr. 
de Novelles invited him to give a mission at Sarno. God 
showered abundant graces on this mission in particular. 
A great number of bravos by profession, placed in the 
hands of the missionaries their daggers, their pistols, and 
bayonets, and from that time, embraced a peaceful and 
pious life. It is on record, that for ten years after this, the 
taverns were quite deserted. It was during this mission 
that Alphonsus gave an extraordinary example of submis¬ 
sion and obedience. His beard had been clipped with 
scissors the previous evening, and its irregularities were 
quite in keeping with his mantle and cassock, both mended 
in a thousand places. The Bishop, wishing to try him, 
said laughingly: “Notwithstanding our wish to be eco¬ 
nomical, a few grani are necessary to have you shaved, 
so I will pay for you myself;” at the same time, he made a 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


141 


sign to a servant to call a barber. Alphonsus said nothing, 
and when the barber came, he presented himself to be 
shaved with the most perfect indifference, although it was 
eighteen years since a razor had touched his chin. 

When he had finished the mission in this town, accom¬ 
panied by fourteen missionaries, he commenced to go 
through the whole diocese. During his sojourn at Malfi, 
in the Pouille, where Mgr. Busti had invited him to preach 
in his cathedral, Alphonsus learned the happy passage to 
heaven of F. Cesar Sportelli, his first companion in the 
Congregation. This loss was a heavy blow to him, but he 
had to rejoice, because of the circumstances attending his 
death. A month previous, the saintly Father had foretold 
the day and the hour of his death, and when one of the 
Fathers set out to join Alphonsus on the mission, he said 
to\him, “Kiss the hand of our Rector for me, and say to 
him that, when he shall receive at Malfi the news of my 
death, he must recommend my soul to Jesus Christ.” He 
died in the odor of sanctity, and God glorified him by 
many miracles. Six months after his death, when they 
opened the coffin in presence of the ecclesiastical judges, 
the body was found uncorrupt, and blood was drawn from 
his veins. 

In the course of his missions in the diocese of Malfi, 
Alphonsus visited Ripacandida, where there was a convent 
of Carmelite nuns, strict observers of the rule. He gave 
them a retreat from which he drew not less profit than he 
gave. He modified, however, their bodily austerities, in 
which he wished them to use more discretion, and estab¬ 
lished some relaxation both for the body and the mind. “I 
did not believe,” he said, “that I should find on this rock 
such a beautiful flower.” 

Having returned to Ciorani, he finished and published in 
the course of this year, 17/50, his precious work entitled 
the “ Glories of Mary.” It was the fruit of years, in which 
he had employed himself to choose from among the works 
of holy Fathers and Theologians, the most conclusive 
proofs in favor of the prerogatives of Mary, and the fittest 


142 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


to engage the faithful to devote themselves to her service. 
The applause with which the book was received, and the 
number of editions through which it has gone, is scarcely 
to be credited. 

The contradiction which so many young men had to en¬ 
counter who joined the Congregation, induced Alphonsus 
to write, about this time, a small work entitled “Advice re- 
ararding a Religious Vocation,” in which he showed that a 
divine vocation is not to be subjected to the will of rela¬ 
tions, and that, when God calls us, we must obey Him. He 
showed the excellence and advantages of the religious 
state, which is the most certain way of salvation, and 
pointed out the means of preserving the vocation. This 
last point he treated in particular in another little work 
called “Advice to Novices,” to aid them in persevering in 
their vocation. He presented these two little works to all 
the novitiates in Naples, and it was every where favorably 
received. “ If,” said he, “ I can hinder one vocation from 
being lost, the gain is not little.” 

Alphonsus was enjoying the greatest happiness in seeing 
his Congregation approved by the Pope, and each day 
making new progress, when a sad reverse came to change 
his joy and consolation into bitterness. The Father Ab¬ 
bot was scarcely settled at Ciorani, when, by the brilliancy 
of his talents, he had gained the admiration of all the stu¬ 
dents, and their hearts also by his edifying conduct. He 
had been sent with twelve of the most talented to Pagani. 
Besides philosophy, he taught them, with the greatest suc¬ 
cess, the elements of sacred and profane history, and the 
learned languages. The Fathers in general rejoiced in his 
success, but Alphonsus feared that the pre-eminence of 
belles-lettres would hurt the spiritual advancement of the 
young men. The commencement with the Abbot had 
been good, but his fervor did not last; habituated to com¬ 
mand, he could not humble himself to obey. The rule 
became a restraint for him; the want of liberty preyed upon 
his mind ; in his conversations with the young men, he 
would sometimes disapprove of one thing, sometimes 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


143 


would modify another; and with regard to certain practices 
of devotion, he would not even suffer them. Other prac¬ 
tices of exterior humiliation, were in his opinion but grim¬ 
aces, which produced no effect, though on his first arrival 
at Ciorani he had practised them himself, and considered 
them as being useful for promoting humility. F. Mazzini, 
being informed of all this, believed he ought to give him a 
friendly warning, but the Abbot received it with a very bad 
grace, and ceased not to spread maxims contrary to a re¬ 
ligious life. When Alphonsus heard at Ciorani of this 
sad news, his heart was oppressed. He advised F. Maz¬ 
zini to be prudent, and wrote at the same time to the Ab¬ 
bot, representing to him the great evil that might result 
from diversity of opinion in a newly established institute; 
but seeing that this only embittered him against F. Mazzini, 
he withdrew the latter from Nocera. Notwithstanding this, 
things did not take a better turn; he troubled the minds of 
the students to such an extent, that they formed themselves 
into two opposite parties. When Alphonsus saw the evil 
thus grow worse, he summoned the Abbot to Ciorani, in 
the month of September, 1750, and as they were giving a 
retreat to the young men preparing for holy orders, he gave 
him the charge of it, that he might not think of returning 
to Pagani. The Abbot did not like this, and showed great 
discontent, when Alphonsus said to him firmly: “ Either 
you must obey, or you are free to return to your own 
Order.” He passed the night in consideration, and then 
agreed to give the exercises, but declared his intention of 
leaving the Congregation. He, however, entered into 
himself and became humble. The Fathers Villani and 
Cafaro interceded for him, and Alphonsus, not wishing to 
disgrace him, sent him back again to Nocera. Peace 
seemed re-established, but it was only a truce. The 
Abbot recommenced his instructions, and among the 
students one was of Paul, another of Apollo. Not to com¬ 
promise every thing, Alphonsus tried another expedient. 
He recalled him to Ciorani. “Every Congregation,” said 
he, “ has an asylum at Rome, why should not we try to 


144 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


establish an hospice there ?” And it was agreed to send 
him there with another Father. But the Abbot, beginning 
to see the reason why Alphonsus had taken this resolution, 
was exceedingly displeased, and yielding to the temptation, 
meditated the ruin of the students altogether. He pro¬ 
posed to them to join with him and go to Rome, where 
they would found a new institute on a footing altogether 
different. Four of them, the flower of the whole, deter¬ 
mined to follow this new founder. Alphonsus was igno¬ 
rant of this plot, and engaged in arranging all things for 
the journey of the Abbot. He was to depart for Naples on 
the 15th of October; he had already taken leave of his 
friends; and on the 14th, Alphonsus had made the twelve 
students come to Ciorani. They arrived in the morning, 
and the same evening Alphonsus assembled a council, and 
all at once proposed the expulsion of the Abbot; he was 
opposed, but the very next day they changed their resolution, 
when the four young men presented themselves to Alphon¬ 
sus with staves in hand and mantles under their arms, de¬ 
manding dispensation from the vows. Alphonsus threw 
himself at their feet, the tears gushing from his eyes, as he 
strove to convince them of the snare into which they were 
falling. Finding them obstinate, he proposed to them to 
make a retreat of eight days, and after that to make their 
decision; but all was useless, they turned their back on 
him, and with an air of contempt, without having obtained 
their dispensation, they all four departed for Nocera. 

There was a circumstance which showed in a striking 
manner the protection God granted to Alphonsus. The 
Abbot, in order to justify himself, had drawn up a memorial 
signed by these four young men, and addressed to the 
Pope, in which they stated a thousand lies against Al- 
phonsus and the Congregation, which they said was full 
of grave disorders. Thus he flattered himself he should 
not only obtain a dispensation for the four students, but 
that his Holiness would advise them to enter the institute 
he proposed to form. That same morning Alphonsus sent 
an order to F. Fiocchi, Rector at Nocera, to inform the 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


145 


Abbot, in whatever spot he might be found, that he was 
no longer a member of the Congregation. The Abbot had 
gone to take leave of the Bishop, and F. Fiocchi followed 
him and told him the decision that had been come to. He 
had not the presence of mind to return to the house and 
remove his papers, and the memorial just alluded to was 
found in his table drawer: so he was minus his memorial, 
and fully unmasked. 

Such were the consequences of the conduct of a subject 
who had repaid with ingratitude the high estimation in 
which he had been held. At Naples, he joined the four 
students, where he seduced a young priest in the College 
of the Holy Family, under the pretence that he had already 
established at Rome his new Congregation, and that the 
Pope had himself designated the four students as so many 
apostles to gain the palm of martyrdom among the infidels. 
But the Abbot soon set out alone for Rome, and abandoned 
the four young victims without their having the least suspi¬ 
cion of it. Alphonsus on this occasion made of him a 
prophecy, fulfilled a few years later; he said to one of the 
Fathers of the same order: “The Abbot has made us weep 
to-day; a time will come when he will make you weep 
also.” Indeed, he troubled the whole order by dividing 
the abbeys of the kingdom of Naples from those of the 
Pontifical States, and making himself be declared by the 
Pope, Perpetual Abbot in Rome, and commissary-general 
for life to the abbeys in the Pontifical States, causing many 
other annoyances to the convents in both kingdoms. Al¬ 
phonsus attributed the discovery of the plot to the special 
protection of St. Theresa, for all happened between the 
first and second vespers of the feast of that saint. Since 
that time the Congregation has taken her for one of its 
principal patrons. The affliction of Alphonsus was, how¬ 
ever, partly tempered by the return of one of the four young 
men a few days after, who threw himself at his feet. Some 
time later, a second followed his example. He received 
them both as a tender father, and ever after showed them a 
special affection. 

13 


146 


LIFE OF ST. ALFHONSUS. 


Several of the counsels Alphonsusgave to the young stu¬ 
dents on this occasion, are still on record: “My dear 
brethren,” he said, “I would earnestly recommend you not 
to keep your conscience closed, for if these unfortunates 
who have gone out from us had manifested the state of their 
souls to their Superiors, they would not now be where they 
are. Had they declared themselves not to any one indif¬ 
ferently, but to him who holds towards us the place of God, 
and cannot deceive us, this had not happened.” Again: 

‘During a temptation, never take a resolution, whatever 
the case may be, and however holy it may appear, but go 
instantly, and discover it to your Superior. When the 
temptation is upon us, we do not recognise that it comes 
from the devil. He conceals himself under a veil, and 
puts before our eyes treacherous spectacles, making us see 
things, not as they are in themselves, but according to our 
passions. If we would avoid the snare, we should instantly 
recommend ourselves to God, and abandon ourselves into 
his hands.” And again: “Sapere, et sapere ad sobrieta- 
tem.” The Abbot had introduced among the students a 
forced application to study, but all this afflicted Alphonsus, 
and he would not suffer it. “I am not sorry,” he said, 
after his departure, “when I see you retrench from your 
studies and give more time to prayer. We have been called 
to succor poor destitute souls in the country, for this rea¬ 
son, we have more need of sanctity than of science. If 
we are not holy, we are exposed to the peril of falling into 
a thousand imperfections and a thousand impatiences with 
this sort of people. I repeat once more, if to give to spi¬ 
rituality you retrench something from your studies, far from 
being sorry, I shall on the contrary experience great con¬ 
solation.” All this must be understood of a forced appli¬ 
cation, as that introduced by the Abbot to the detriment of 
the spirit of piety. For nothing can be more strong than 
the terms in which he recommended, at other times, as also 
in the rules, the proper application to science, and this as 
well in regard to the students, as in regard to the priests of 
the institute. His motto was: “A laborer without science, 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


147 


though he be a man of prayer, is like a soldier without 
arms.” He wrote, at the same time, to all the houses the 
following circular: 

“To my Brethren of the Congregation of the Most Holy 
Redeemer. Blessed be Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and Theresa. 

“ My very dear Brethren, you know that I am not afflicted 
when I hear of some one among my brethren being called 
to another life. I am touched by it, because I am a crea¬ 
ture of flesh and blood; but I am comforted, because he 
has died in a Congregation of which I am certain all the 
members will be saved. Neither am I afflicted when one 
among us, because of his faults, ceases to be a member of 
the Congregation; I am even consoled by seeing that we 
are delivered from a sickly sheep that might have infected 
others. Far less am I afflicted because of persecutions; 
on the contrary, they inspire me with courage; because if 
we conduct ourselves well, we are certain God will not 
abandon us. But that which alarms me is, to learn that 
there is among us one who is vicious, who is negligent in 
obeying, and who pays little regard to the rule. My 
brethren, you know it, some who have been with us, are 
now out of the Congregation. What will their end be? I 
cannot tell. But of this T am certain, they will lead a life 
of continued misfortune, they will live in trouble, and die 
without peace, for they have abandoned their vocation. . . . 
In mental prayer, they will be torn by remorse of conscience 
for having left God, and thus they will abandon it, and then 
God knows where they will end. 

“I beseech you to avoid faults of deliberation, and above* 
all, those for which you have been reprimanded. If cor¬ 
rection leads the delinquent to amend, the fault will be 
nothing, but when he will not amend, the devil employs 
every artifice to make him lose his vocation. 

“By the grace of God, wherever we go on mission we 
perform wonders, and people say they have never had a 
mission such as ours. And why? Because we go by obe¬ 
dience, we go in poverty, we preach Christ crucified, and 
each one is attentive to acquit himself of the charge im- 


148 


LIFE OF ST. ALPffONStXSf. 


posed upon him. I have been deeply grieved to learn that 
some among you, when on mission, have been desirous of 
obtaining the more honorable employments, such as preach¬ 
ing or instructing. But what fruit could he produce, who 
preaches from pride? It is a thing which I have in horror. 
If the spirit of ambition enters the Congregation, the mis¬ 
sions will do little good,, or rather they will do none at all.’' 

Towards the end of the autumn of 1750, Alphonsus 
-continued to give missions in different quarters, chiefly in 
the diocese of Salerno, and at Montemarano, in which 
place numbers of criminals came to him, touched by re¬ 
morse, and were placed by him in the right way. The 
conversion of these malefactors wa's a subject of great 
consolation in the town, and still more in the neighboring 
country. 

He had scarcely returned to Nocera, when his heart was 
pierced by a new sorrow, the departure of an ancient 
Father whom he loved much, and who was very useful in 
the missions. Offended by a reasonable and moderate 
correction from his Superior, he communicated to no per¬ 
son his temptation, and set off for Nocera, believing Al¬ 
phonsus would give him satisfaction. But reflecting by 
the way on the inconsiderate step he had taken, and not 
feeling the courage to present himself before Alphonsus, 
he directed his steps to his own house. All the efforts of 
Alphonsus and others, to induce him to return, were una¬ 
vailing. This happened on the 25th of July, 1751, and as 
the inconstancy of this Father had produced a great sensa¬ 
tion in the Congregation, he again wrote a circular to all 
the houses on the 27th. Among other things, he says in 
it: “I pray God that he may immediately chase from among 
us all those proud and haughty spirits who cannot brook a 
reprimand. . . . He w r ho refuses to be as potters’ clay, to be 
trodden under the feet of all, let him fly, and let him fly 
immediately. The Lord will be better satisfied if there re¬ 
main but two who are truly humble and mortified, than if 
there remained a thousand who were imperfect. ... I would 
impress it also upon the heart of each one of you, never to 



LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


149 


speak evil of the conduct or any thing else of the Supe¬ 
riors. The indiscreet zeal of some does far more harm than 
good to the Congregation. Those who are truly zealous 
when they remark some disorder or inobservance, let them 
tell it in secret to the monitor of the house, &c. Be atten¬ 
tive, to take count of the least faults, because they are the 
little foxes the devil makes use of to devastate our mind 
and render us incapable of being solicitous to preserve our 
vocation. Let us, my dear brethren, sustain ourselves by 
prayer, and by continual prayer, otherwise we shall do 
nothing.” After the apostolic courses of the year 1751. 
which were not less fruitful in conversions than the former 
ones, and having giving missions in the territory of Maria- 
nella, where he had first seen the light, he wished to pass 
through Naples on his return. He alighted at the door of 
the small hospice given to him by his brother Hercules. 
When the people saw a man riding on a white ass, his 
beard neglected, and his clothes ragged and worn, they did 
not recognise him, but mistaking him for a vagabond, they 
began hooting and ridiculing him. Alphonsus took it all 
with great good humor, till a merchant calling out his 
name, made them understand he w r as the brother of D. 
Hercules. It was evening when he arrived, worn out with 
fatigue; he would not sup, but said to the lay-brother that 
he would lie down. D. Hercules came to visit him, but 
fearing to disturb his sleep, he resolved to return in the 
morning; but when he came, Alphonsus had not yet risen : 
he returned after a while, and fearing some accident, forced 
open the door. He found him extended on his bed in a 
fainting fit, and ran to obtain help. The doctors ordered 
him to be undressed, and they found his body enveloped in 
sackcloth, which hindered him from breathing. They bled 
him, and then he began to come to himself. Seeing that 
he was discovered, he bitterly complained to the brother for 
having permitted such a thing. Fatigued and weak though 
he was, he nevertheless consented to give a sermon to the 
students of the Archiepiscopal Seminary, and visited seve¬ 
ral monasteries where he was invited. 

13 * 


150 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


This same year a new annoyance had overtaken Alphon- 
sus unexpectedly, which threatened ruin, and caused him 
great anxiety. It happened towards the end of January 
that the King, while hunting in the territory of Iliceto, saw 
the house of the missionaries, which is built on an emi¬ 
nence, and asked one of his courtiers to whom it belonged. 
“It is the house of F. Liguori’s missionaries,” he replied, 
“and they have made a good hit there, having fallen heir 
to no less than sixty thousand ducats.” He referred to the 
will of the late Canon Curate of Iliceto, which was men¬ 
tioned above. “Ah!” said the King, “these then are just 
like the others: scarcely do they begin, when they set 
themselves to acquire wealth.” Deceived by what he had 
heard, the King conceived an unfavorable opinion of the 
Congregation; all the court soon knew it, and every one 
talked of their ambition and the certainty of the order be¬ 
ing suppressed. A tempest so unexpected alarmed the 
whole Congregation. Alphonsus, however, full of confi¬ 
dence in God, said to his brethren: “The Lord will make 
the Congregation prosper, not by the applause, and the 
protection of princes, but by means of poverty and con¬ 
tempt, of misery and persecution; when have we ever seen 
the works of God begin in the midst of applause?” Con¬ 
fiding in the integrity of his conscience, he went to Na¬ 
ples; he found the ministers too much prejudiced against 
the Congregation; every where they spoke of the wealth 
the missionaries had acquired. Alphonsus had recourse 
to the protection of God, and tried to obtain mercy by in¬ 
creased mortifications, exhorting at the same time his 
brethren to join him in penance and prayer, by reciting in 
all the houses the psalm, “Qui habitat,” and taking a dis¬ 
cipline in common, in addition to those appointed in the 
rule. They multiplied their alms and offered many masses. 

In these critical circumstances, their affairs were the 
object of research to notaries and their subalterns, to as¬ 
certain, in consequence of orders from Naples, the acquisi¬ 
tions they had made in the several houses. But his Ma¬ 
jesty, who could not doubt the integrity of Alphonsus, was 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


151 


not slow to reflect on the improbability of his suspicions, 
and said to the Marquis Brancone, that Alphonsus himself 
should arrange an account of the revenues of the different 
houses. Alphonsus declared that the house of Iliceto had 
in all a yearly rent of three hundred ducats, and that the 
deductions made in consequence of different charges upon 
it, reduced it to much less; that those of Ciorani and Ca- 
posele had each about five hundred ducats of revenue; but 
that Nocera had only the bare walls, and a small bit of 
garden ground. The reports made by the local authorities 
attributed much less to each house than Alphonsus had 
done, and his great sincerity confirmed the King more and 
more in the high opinion he had of him. But even when 
the calumny was exposed, Alphonsus could not get rid of 
uneasiness, the ministers were yet asking whether or not 
the Congregation should be suppressed. All were inclined 
to abolish it, they thought the kingdom had already more 
than sufficient religious establishments, and rather than to 
consent to the establishment of new ones, they thought of 
diminishing those already in existence. Alphonsus was 
without any human support, but he did not lose courage; 
he said that the souls of the blessed would defend his cause, 
and abandoned the interests of his Congregation to the 
piety of the King and the protection of Providence. He 
quitted Naples, and withdrew to Nocera to prepare for the 
missions of autumn and winter, and went to preach pen¬ 
ance in the Archdiocese of Salerno. After Easter, 1752, 
he went to Gragnano, accompanied by twenty-two mis¬ 
sionaries. Prodigies of grace were performed, particularly 
among the malefactors, many of whom were seen deposit¬ 
ing their daggers and pistols at the feet of the Blessed 
Virgin. Among these was a celebrated bandit, who, in the 
procession to erect the calvary, carried one of the crosses 
on his shoulders, weeping so as to cause the whole people 
to shed tears of joy. 

In the course of these missions, Alphonsus had written 
to the Marquis Brancone to intercede with the King. The 
Marquis embraced every opportunity of speaking with his 


152 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


Majesty, and at length wrote to Alphonsus that matters 
were so arranged, that he should come to Naples himself, 
which he accordingly did as soon as the missions were fin¬ 
ished. He presented himself to the King, told him how, for 
nineteen years, he and his companions had visited the most 
remote and destitute villages of the kingdom; he told him of 
thousands that had been converted in his own royal domains; 
that each year they had given more than forty missions; 
he represented to him that the Archbishop of Conza and 
Salerno, and the Bishops of Bovino and Nocera, seeing 
the good produced, had established houses of missionaries 
in their respective dioceses, and that the Pope, informed of 
of what had been done, had approved the Institute for the 
whole Church; but that it was also necessary that the ap¬ 
probation of the sovereign should be given, to insure the 
future existence of so great a work. As for the acquiring 
of riches, as this was the sole obstacle that the ministers 
could oppose, he opened his heart to the King, showing 
him how very far he was from wishing his Congregation to 
become rich. “I am persuaded,” he said, “that wherever 
abundance reigns, the laborer will abandon the axe, and 
the spade, and seek only repose. I would not wish that 
opulence should reign in the Congregation. I seek only 
to procure a modest livelihood, according to the intention 
of the Pope, and I beseech your Majesty to establish a fixed 
revenue, beyond which we may not go.” He also had re¬ 
course to the intervention of the Queen, which he managed 
to secure through the celebrated Jesuit, Francis Pipi, and 
Mother Mary Angela of Divine Love, who had been his 
penitent in the world, but was now Superior of a Carmelite 
Convent at Caporea, to which the Queen often resorted. 
He visited also the ministers, to urge upon them the im¬ 
portance of this affair, in promoting the salvation of multi¬ 
tudes of people. He spoke to them with tears, but his 
illustrious birth and extraordinary merits were not sufficient 
to protect him from insult. Some rejected him with unpi¬ 
tying bitterness. One minister in particular treated him 
with the utmost rudeness, and after listening with marked 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


153 


incivility to what he said, almost turned him out of doors. 
“Do not talk nonsense to me,” he said, “and tell your 
stories to some old woman.” Alphonsus bowed his head, 
and said nothing. On another occasion he said to one of 
the ministry, “My Lord, I recommend to you the cause of 
Jesus Christ,” who replied in the most contemptuous man¬ 
ner, “Jesus Christ has no cause in the royal chambers.” 

In the midst of these difficult affairs, which detained him 
at Naples, he did not forget the work to which he had 
devoted his life. Even his sojourn in that capital was a 
continual mission. He gave a retreat in the church of the 
Pilgrims, during which, besides the conversion of many old 
in sin, hundreds of infidels abjured their errors. He often 
preached in the Chinese College, and many convents pro¬ 
fited by his labors. When the negociations approached a 
close, he had many masses said, and multiplied his pen¬ 
ances, to force, as it were, the benedictions of Heaven. 
He made special vows to the souls in purgatory, to St. 
Joseph, and St. Theresa, and wrote to many monasteries, 
begging for prayers and novenas. His hope being thus 
fixed on Him, in whom it can never be confounded, the 
affair was again proposed in the council, and they were 
finally approved in November, 1752, on condition that they 
acquired no new revenues for the future, the king furnish¬ 
ing each priest and lay-brother with about twenty cents (of 
our money) a day, the surplus revenue being to be distri¬ 
buted to the poor, and the moveables already acquired be¬ 
ing to be administerered by the bishops of the dioceses in 
which their houses were situated, the king not recognising 
their houses or colleges as ecclesiastical communities. 
This decree caused great embarrassment to Alphonsus, 
because he feared the existence of the houses was still 
insecure; but the Marquis Brancone viewed it in another 
light, and re-assured him on the subject. Thus was par¬ 
tially fulfilled a prophecy he had made before, writing to 
Mary Angela of Capua: “I believe,” he wrote, “that God 
will mortify my pride, and that this approbation will not be 
given until after I am dead.” Indeed, it was not until the 


154 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


next reign, after he was dead, that the Congregation was 
placed on a proper footing. 

Towards the commencement of the year 1753, notwith¬ 
standing his grave and multiplied embarrassments, Alphon- 
sus published his Moral Theology. In the year 1748, he had, 
at the request of the Fathers of his Congregation, enriched 
Busembaum with notes, which they wished to have printed, 
that they might consult them with facility. At a later pe¬ 
riod, he enlarged this work, and published it in two thick 
volumes, which he dedicated to Benedict XIV, who gave 
it his approbation. 

This work was the fruit of a pure zeal for the glory of 
God and the salvation of souls, and while he labored at it, 
he never embraced or rejected any opinion without having 
this double object in view, nor did he ever take up his pen 
without recommending himself to Jesus Christ and the 
Blessed Virgin, whose images he had always before him. 
He was exceedingly careful to avoid the extremes of a re¬ 
laxed probabilism, or a rigid austerity, both of which are 
pernicious to souls; but he followed throughout the line 
of exact equity, equally free from that rigid spirit which 
turns into precept that which is not, wishing to make every 
thing sinful, and from that easy and accommodating spirit 
which gives liberty where there is precept. Attaching him¬ 
self to no party, he respected all, but above all he revered 
reason, and made the authority of the Church his law. He 
several times reproached the decisions of the most rigid 
theologians with relaxation, and hesitated not sometimes to 
reject, as too rigid, the decisions of the most indulgent. 
When he hesitated between two opinions, he left the reader 
at liberty to choose between them for himself. Whenever 
he had a difficult case to consider, besides meditation and 
prayer, he passed entire months in examining different 
opinions, and when he was not convinced, not satisfied 
with consulting the Fathers of his own Congregation, he 
sent to Rome and Naples for the opinions of the best the¬ 
ologians, and principally to the Sacred Congregations which 
are at Rome, as the organs of the Sovereign Pontiff. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


1 55 


Notwithstanding the favorable reception the first edition 
of this u r ork met with, he reviewed the whole, to examine 
it with still more reflection before publishing a second edi¬ 
tion, he corrected it in several points, as he himself an¬ 
nounces in the preface. The respectable Congregations of 
Naples, however, did not agree in his retractations, judging 
that the opinions which he retracted were sufficiently pro¬ 
bable. Some also said these retractations were not to his 
credit. “Let them say what they will,” he replied; “I 
seek not my own glory, I seek only the glory of Jesus 
Christ, and the salvation of souls.” The present time in 
which we live shows how much and in what manner God 
blessed his labors and upright intentions, not only in Italy, 
but in all other countries. The Pope spoke prophetically, 
when he assured him of universal approbation, this being 
literally the case in these our times. Benedict XIV had 
such a high esteem for. his wisdom, that on one occasion, 
when a celebrated Neapolitan missionary came to consult 
him on a difficult case, this great Pope would not give a 
decision, but contented himself with replying: “You have 
the Father Liguori at Naples, consult him.” 

The King, Charles III, showed during this year how 
much he was satisfied with the labors of Alphonsus and his 
companions. A respectable and very ancient order had 
fallen into decay, and a holy individual, charmed with the 
zeal of Alphonsus, proposed to his Majesty that he should 
undertake the reform of it, in order that the Congregation 
might thus be legally erected into a religious order in the 
kingdom, to perpetuate the work of the missions. The 
King and the Queen were delighted with the idea, and 
proposed to the Marquis Brancone to mention it to Al¬ 
phonsus. Their plan was, that he and his companions, 
without abandoning their own rule, should take the habit 
and the name of the order in question, the ancient religious 
being permitted to retire in certain of their convents, with¬ 
out being disquieted by the reform. Alphonsus begged the 
Marquis to give him time to consult with his companions 
before replying to the King. The project was advantageous 


156 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


in some respects, but they recognised that, besides many 
dangers and contradictions to which the enterprise would 
expose them, the work of the missions, instead of progress¬ 
ing, would only be seriously impeded, and that if the King 
died before every thing was settled, the ancient order con¬ 
tinuing to exist, they might find themselves some day nei¬ 
ther missionaries nor religious. From these and other 
powerful considerations, he abandoned all idea of the 
scheme, although deeply grateful for the favor his sovereign 
had shown him. 

In the month of July, 1753, during the Novena of the 
feast of Mount Carmel, which, though overpowered by 
previous fatigue, he had accepted to give at Saragnano, the 
Virgin, his Mother, showed how agreeable he was to her. 
They were lodged in the house of a physician named Fran¬ 
cis Mari, who had invited them. Twelve Fathers arrived 
one Thursday immediately before dinner, and as they were 
not expected, nothing was prepared for such a large party. 
The physician sent to his neighbors, but as he could get 
nothing, he requested Alphonsus to dispense with the rule 
and allow him to serve fowls. “No, no,” said he smiling, 
“give yourself no further trouble, put the meat you have on 
the table, and God will supply what is wanting.” And lo! 
while they were cutting the meat in the kitchen, they saw 
the pieces becoming visibly larger, and so much so, that, 
after the whole party had been abundantly served, a con¬ 
siderable quantity remained. Mari afterwards attested that 
the meat had increased at least seven-fold. Alphonsus, 
seeing the astonishment of Mari, said: “In all embarrass¬ 
ments, let us have recourse to God, and never doubt his 
providence.” 

The autumn and winter of this year were fruitful in mis¬ 
sions as usual. The inhabitants of Resina asked for a mis¬ 
sion, but because of its proximity to Naples, Alphonsus 
refused; the people, however, applied to the King, who laid 
his command on him and furnished all the expenses him¬ 
self. They afterwards went into the royal territory of Per- 
sano, always at the expense of his Majesty, whose good 


LTFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


157 


heart delighted in affording his subjects means of grace. 
The Marquis Brancone, convinced of the greatness of the 
work, sent them also frequent subsidies, and many bishops 
contributed liberally towards the expenses of the mission. 
Alphonsus had, this year, to mourn over the death of F. 
Cafaro, who died at Caposele on the 13th of August. He 
loved and esteemed him, regarding him as a model of he¬ 
roic sanctity, whose example drew others to sacrifice them¬ 
selves for God. Prayer and mortification were his two in¬ 
separable companions; he was the director of Alphonsus. 
He besought the prayers of all, that this great support of 
the Congregation might be spared, but the hour was come, 
and Alphonsus bowed in submission, adoring the decrees 
of God. He himself wrote a short abstract of his life. 


CHAPTER XVI. 

Alphonsus founds a house in the Pontifical States. Various 
apostolical courses and labors. He founds a house in 
Sicily. 

A LTHOUGH approved by the Pope, the Congregation 
had not yet entered the Pontifical States. It was in 
the year 1753, that Mgr. Pacca, the Archbishop of Bene- 
vento, to supply the necessities of his vast diocese, applied 
to Alphonsus for the establishment of a house of the order 
in it; he was persuaded so to do by his Vicar-General, D. 
Joseph Fusco. To arrange matters, Alphonsus sent F. 
Villani, who set out for Benevento with Mgr. Nicolas Bor¬ 
gia, Bishop of Cava, who had offered to accompany him. 
in order to second the measure. The two travellers expe¬ 
rienced a special protection of God’s providence. When 
they set out, the weather was beautiful and calm, but before 
they had proceeded far, a thunder-storm came on, the light¬ 
ning flashed, and the rain fell in torrents. Twice within a 
short time a thunderbolt fell at Mgr. Borgia’s feet, without 
14 


158 


LIFE OF ST. ALPITO'NSUS« 


hurting him in the least, nor his companion. At Bene- 
vento it was decided they should be established at St. An¬ 
gelo della Coupola, and to prevent delay, the Fathers were 
to lodge in the mean time in a country-house formerly in¬ 
habited by Benedict XIII, when he was only Archbishop, 
in which they were established on the 6th of April, 1755. 
The Archbishop was so charmed with the results of their 
first labors, a retreat given to the students, regular and 
secular, and also to a part of the seminarists, and another 
given in the cathedral during a great drought, that he went 
to Nocera to visit Alphonsus, and thank him as the author 
of a work so salutary for the people. He invited him to 
give a mission at Benevento himself, which he agreed to do 
in November following. The Archbishop declared that it 
was to him, after God, he would confide the interests of 
his diocese, and offered every assistance in his power to 
promote the building of the establishment. 

Alphonsus having now resided at Nocera several years, 
F. Rossi invited him to give a retreat at Ciorani during 
Passion Week. As soon as his arrival was known, there 
was such a concourse of priests and gentlemen, that mes¬ 
sengers had to be despatched in different directions, to 
warn them that there was no more room, but they would 
not return, and resolved to pass the night before the door 
rather than not hear Alphonsus. The Prince of Castella- 
neta was there with twelve officers of his regiment, and 
many gentlemen, who slept four in a room, or on mattresses 
in the corridors. The Count d’Aguila was so touched by 
grace, that hearing one of his soldiers swear by the blood 
of Jesus Christ, he condemned him to be tied to a pole, 
three hours morning*and evening, by the hair of his head, 
with a gag in his mouth, for a whole week. 

It was at this time a discussion took place between Al¬ 
phonsus and a polemic, who was displeased by his cen¬ 
sures on Muratori for having shown himself too reserved in 
exalting Mary and speaking of her power. Alphonsus 
answered his attacks mildly, but at the same time so 
convincingly, that his adversary, a disciple of Jansenius, set 


LIFE 0E ST. ALPHONSUS. 


159 


himself all at once to attack his Moral Theology, not sparing 
his very person. But the moderation with which Alphon¬ 
sus confounded his adversary, drew upon him the esteem 
of all Italy. 

In the course of the autumn, 1755, Alphon-sus went, as 
he had promised, to give a mission at Benevento. He 
went by Naples, where he found his mother dangerously 
ill, but he had the consolation of seeing her delivered from 
the scruples which had formerly tormented her, and entire¬ 
ly resigned to the will of God. He administered the sacra¬ 
ments to her, and fortified her by his counsels during three 
days. As he could no longer delay his mission, he asked 
her parting benediction, and set out for Benevento, con¬ 
soled by seeing his mother dying the death of the just, and 
full of joy, that her son left her only to conquer souls for 
Jesus Christ. He arrived at Benevento accompanied by 
twenty missionaries. A prelate who was present wrote 
thus: “It is long since we have seen such truly apostolic 
men; one can form no idea of the effects they produce. 

.The voice of the holy missionary was weakened 

by age, and still more by fatigue, but the sight of his zeal 
was sufficient to soften the hardest hearts and melt them 
like wax. Benevento has been sanctified, and numerous 
malefactors, when they saw him there, became models of 
piety. All souls profited by his labors, so that a general 
reformation of manners succeeded.” 

The fruits of this mission were so great that the renown 
of it reached Rome, and Cardinal Orsini wrote to Alphon- 
sus, that the Pope had been so satisfied with what he had 
heard, that he spoke himself to the Duke of Cerisan to ob¬ 
tain from his Majesty an exequatur to the brief of approba¬ 
tion given to the Congregation. 

It was at this time that to render priests, particularly 
those in remote parts of the country, more skilful in hear¬ 
ing confessions, Alphonsus published his Moral Theology 
in Italian, in three volumes, giving it a new but abridged 
form, and adding three interesting appendices for the direc¬ 
tion of souls. The work met with great applause at home, 



160 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


and when it became known out of Italy, and the demand 
for it in foreign countries increased, he wrote a similar one 
in Latin under the title of “ Homo apostolicus.” 

Different affairs connected with the Congregation obliged 
him to go to Naples towards the end of February, 1756. 
The Cardinal Sersales, who knew the talent God had given 
him of touching hearts, besought him to give the spiritual 
exercises in a hall of the palace to the ecclesiastics. He 
expected only the young students, but as soon as he was 
known to be there,' there ran thither such multitudes of 
canons, missionaries, and entire religious communities, that 
the number of those who attended was not less than a thou¬ 
sand. His Eminence assisted, and experienced indescrib¬ 
able satisfaction in seeing such a concourse of penitents. 
Alphonsus on this occasion saw canons, superiors of orders, 
and even bishops, pressing to the door of the saloon, in 
order to kiss his hand ; but he humbled himself interiorly, 
and enveloped himself in his mantle to escape observation 

When the Cardinal saw the effect he had produced on 
the young people of the seminary, he insisted on his return¬ 
ing to preach to them once a week, to confirm them more 
and more in the good resolutions they had formed. The 
directors of the seminaries in the town and in the diocese 
also entreated him to grant them the same favor, so that he 
often preached two and three times in one day. 

The disorders of which Naples, like all other capitals, 
was not free, caused much pain to Alphonsus; but above all, 
the increase of homicide, caused by the doctrines of the 
materialists and deists propagated in Italy. Deploring the 
sad consequences which he foresaw would accrue from 
these doctrines to the Church and the State, he pointed out 
to the Cardinal the great evils produced by the introduction 
of impious books, which passed from Naples into the pro¬ 
vinces, and urged him to remonstrate with the King and 
the ministers on this subject. To inspire the people with 
horror for such productions, he spoke openly from the 
pulpit, condemning, as guilty of grave sin, those who sold 
such books, and also those who kept them in their houses; 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


161 


he spoke also to the most respectable ecclesiastics and 
confessors, advising them to devise means to warn the 
faithful against the artifices of impiety. He also published 
his learned treatise of the defence of Religion and of the 
State, against the materialists and deists; a work which wap 
well received, and found to be particularly useful against 
the sophists who tried to pervert the minds of the people 
and sap the foundations of their faith. 

Alphonsus returned to Nocera in Holy Week, 1756, but 
scarcely had he reached the house, when he was called 
away by the queen-mother, who wished to consult him on 
affairs of conscience. The court was then at St. Lauro. 
The nuns of the monastery of St. Lauro wished to obtain 
a piece of his clothing. They hit on the following expe¬ 
dient. They invited him to visit a beautiful reliquary they 
preserved in their church, and begged him to give it to 
each of them to kiss, and while he bent forward for this 
purpose, one of the pensioners came behind and cut a 
large piece off his mantle. In the evening, as it was cold, 
he spread it over his bed; but finding it very short, he said 
to F. Galdieri, who had accompanied him: “This mantle 
is not mine; is it yours?” “It is your own,” replied the 
Father; “the Nuns have played you that trick.” “Yes,” 
he replied, in confusion, “I see now; I could not com¬ 
prehend how, in walking, I always felt something striking 
against my leg;” adding: “The fact is, it would require an 
old clothes shop to mend it.” It was not seldom such 
thefts were committed when he stopped in any place. 

In the beginning of July, 1756, he went again to Naples. 
The interests of the Congregation detained him at the 
court, and he wished to assure himself more and more 
of the protection of the King, and obtain at length the 
exequatur of the Apostolic brief. On the tenth of the 
same month, he wrote to the different houses, ordering a 
Novena to be made for the success of this affair, and a 
discipline every evening. On this, as on former occasions, 
the invitations of curates for Triduos, and instructions for 
the people, and the convents, left him no repose. He 
14 * 


162 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


published also at this time a little work, entitled, “Method 
for the Confessor to exercise his Ministry well.” In it he 
considered the Confessor as a father, as a physician, as a 
teacher, and as a judge, giving rules of conduct proper to 
each of these characters. This work was so much admired, 
that the most learned men went the length of saying that he 
could not have composed it without the special assistance 
of his guardian angel. The author of the Dictionary of Illus¬ 
trious Men, says of it: “It breathes a divine unction, all is 
charity, gentleness and moderation.” And Fr. Zaccharie, 
in the 12th vol. of his History of Literature, speaks thus 
of it: “What a precious book! It is an antidote against 
the poison contained in the Instructions to Confessors and 
Penitents, published by Occhi; what a difference between 
these two books! The practice of F. Liguori breathes a 
divine unction; we see in it but charity, gentleness, and 
moderation. ... In it we see the wise man who seeks the 
salvation of souls. . . . He follows a method just and wisely 
reasonable, which smooths the way for penitence.” 

Alphonsus remained at Naples during the following 
month, but notwithstanding all his endeavors, the opinion 
of Mgr. Galiani, the Grand Almoner, prevailed; and under 
pretence that the King, in granting the exequatur to the 
bull, would not be free to suppress the Congregation, should 
it degenerate, the petition was refused. But the King, to 
console Alphonsus, took several opportunities of assuring 
him that he might rely on his continued protection. At 
this time Carmin Ventapane, one of the first physicians in 
Naples, a wealthy and zealous man, proposed to send the 
missionaries at his own expense into Calabria, the only pro¬ 
vince of the kingdom which had not been benefited by the 
labors of the Congregation. Alphonsus. who knew the 
destitution of these provinces, rejoiced exceedingly, and 
had the pleasure of despatching a number of his mission¬ 
aries to Calabria in November, 1756. While they labored 
successfully in that province, he himself went with fourteen 
others to give a mission at Amalfi. God blessed it in a 
most remarkable manner. Among others, there were two 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


163 


suburbs in this town, peopled entirely by women of bad 
character, who were the ruin of the inhabitants, and a 
scourge to all strangers. It is attested that every one, 
without exception, was converted, and persevered in her 
amendment. Tamborines and guitars were common in the 
streets, and gave occasion to scandalous dances, which were 
characterised by libertinism and effrontery. He preached 
with such force against these disorders, that the young 
people piled these instruments in front of the cathedral 
and burned them. God was pleased to concur in a miracu¬ 
lous way in order to confirm the good done in this place. 
The evening before they left, Alphonsus said in his sermon 
“We are much fatigued in laboring for you; but to-morrow, 
as soon as we shall be gone, a devil will come down from 
the mountain to destroy the fruit of this mission. Lislen to 
me, and look well to it, for you will draw upon yourselves 
the chastisement of an earthquake.” Next day a buffalo 
was set loose for the amusement of the people, who all ran 
to the ring; but scarcely was the play begun, when a violent 
shock frightened the whole town, and the terrified people 
fled to the church. Tfre Bishop ran thither, and while he 
recalled to them the prediction of Alphonsus, and the con¬ 
tempt for it which they had shown, another shock was felt, 
so violent that the flambeaus and the chandeliers were over¬ 
turned. The Bishop himself became alarmed, and ordered 
the priests to give absolution to all. Thus a new testimony 
was given to the truth of the words of Alphonsus. 

From Amalfi he was called to Nola by Mgr. Carracciolo, 
to aid him in the reform of his Seminary, in which the 
disorders had risen to such a deplorable height, that they 
seemed too great to be remedied. He went, but for several 
days he might as well have preached to the walls. The 
most awful truths of hell and eternity were but subjects of 
ridicule for many, who amused themselves by imitating the 
tone of his voice and his gestures. The Bishop was for 
reforming these disorders by gentle means, but Alphonsus 
said: “Mgr., do you know how many Bishops are damned 
because of the Seminaries? This will be your fate, if you 


164 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


do not change your system and employ rigor to banish the 
evil.” He continued to preach, and when 4he exercises 
had nearly finished, in spite of the ridicule which still con¬ 
tinued, all were suddenly seized with terror. Four of the 
most turbulent fled, others asked to be dismissed, a/id the 
remainder were filled with humility and repentance. A 
change so unexpected was regarded as the fruit of his 
prayers and penances. The reform was general; he estab¬ 
lished morning meditation, visits to the Blessed Sacrament 
and the Blessed Virgin in the evening, and the practice of 
Christian mortification. All began to frequent the Sacra¬ 
ments, and even those who had been among the worst, 
went to communion several times a week. He prescribed 
Novenas in honor of Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin, 
with other practices of piety, and a day of retreat each 
month. When the morals were thus reformed, learning 
began also to flourish, and this Seminary became after¬ 
wards eminent for the learning of those educated there. 
Alphonsus, during his long life, always took a deep interest 
in it, and, if he could not go in person, sent his missiona¬ 
ries every year to give a retreat. 

From Nola he went to the diocese of Cerreto. On 
arriving at the palace of the Bishop, he requested a servant 
who was sweeping the saloon, to inform his master of his 
arrival. The man, seeing an ill-dressed individual with a 
long beard, continued his work without paying any attention 
to what he said; and when Alphonsu's repeated his request, 
he began to mutter in bad humor, “I must finish this,” and 
went on sweeping; as he approached where Alphonsus sat, 
he said: “Don’t you see me here, why don’t you rise?” 
Alphonsus rose without showing any annoyance, and when 
he had finished sweeping, again begged he would inform 
his master. The servant went and merely said a poor man 
wanted to speak to the Bishop; he was told to inquire his 
name, and what he wanted; but when the Bishop heard it 
was Alphonsus, he got up in a great hurry, calling first to 
one and then to another for different articles of attire, that 
he might receive him in a becoming manner. The valet, 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


165 


seeing all this, ran in great fear to hide himself. Alphonsus 
desiring to say mass, Monsignor sought for the valet to 
serve him; at first he could not be found, but after being 
called repeatedly, he came and threw himself at the feet of 
Alphonsus, asking pardon for what he had done. The 
Bishop, astonished, demanded an explanation, when the 
valet with tears avowed what had happened, Alphonsus 
laughing good humoredly at the whole affair. 

From Cerreto he returned to Naples. It was whilst he 
ttfas staying there that the following example of bilocation 
occurred. A woman w 7 hom he had reclaimed from an 
abandoned life, was in the habit of coming every Saturday 
for alms. Being told this time Alphonsus had gone to 
Naples, she went to the church, sad and disappointed, to 
recommend herself to God, but while praying, she heard 
her protector, who called her to the door of the sacristy, 
and gave her the accustomed alms, beseeching her to re¬ 
main faithful to God. The woman on leaving the church 
said to the porter: “ How is it that people call you a saint, 
and you have told lies? you have said the superior was at 
Naples, a-nd he is here.” When the porter denied this, 
she said: “I know he is here, for he called me just now, 
and gave me this money;” and she showed what she held 
in her hand. The porter, stopping the woman, ran to inform 
the Hector, who came with others of the Fathers to interro¬ 
gate her, and convinced themselves that while laboring in 
Naples, he had been at the same time present at Nocera. 
A similar miracle happened in one of the missions at 
Amalfi, w'hen he was confessing in the house and preach¬ 
ing in the church at the same moment. 

Towards the end of May, the missionaries returned from 
Calabria, followed by numerous letters of thanks and sup¬ 
plications for more missions. In the month of November 
he sent again two detachments into the same province, the 
Prince John Filomarino having besought him to send them 
to the more remote parts of it at his own expense, to evan¬ 
gelise his poor vassals. Before their departure, the Blessed 
Sacrament was exposed, and Alphonsus gave them his 


166 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


benediction, almost envying their happiness at being sent 
on such a mission. 

In January, 1758, he went himself with twenty of his 
companions to Salerno. His voice was too weak to be 
heard through all the extent of the cathedral, but notwith¬ 
standing, the people were dissolved in tears, and the greatest 
sinners, touched to the heart and deeply contrite, came to 
cast themselves at his feet. One in particular, sobbing 
convulsively, exclaimed, “How should I not weep, I who 
have offended God so much, when I see this holy religious 
doing penance for me.” Long after, when Mgr. Pento 
had become bishop of Tricarico, he wrote in reference to 
this mission: “The benefit was great and permanent, the 
conversions innumerable and astonishing, the aspect of the 
whole town was changed, beginning with the highest and 
going down to the lowest. The fruits of this mission were 
of long standing; I myself owe the grace of being enabled 
to quit the world, to the light I then received.” All agreed 
that greater effects could not have been produced even by 
the Apostles themselves. 

In the course of this mission, Alphonsus had to bewail the . 
loss of F. Xavier Rossi, the support of the house of Ciorani, 
and one of his oldest companions. But if he had reason 
to deplore his premature death, he had more reason to 
rejoice in his having died the death of a saint. This same 
Father had formerly been miraculously restored to health by 
the prayers and faith of Alphonsus. When he was told 
that the doctors despaired of his recovery, he wrote to him: 
“Invoke the peace of Jesus Christ, ask him to come and 
bless this malady and chase it away. I will that you live, 
and labor for the Congregation.” This was sufficient, F. 
Rossi was cured. 

During Lent, Alphonsus was called to Naples, and gave 
retreats in many monasteries. In that of St. Gaudiosa 
there occurred a circumstance too remarkable to be omitted. 
Father Galdieri, who accompanied him, desiring 
rate the blood of the Martyr St. Stephen, which was pre 
served there, Alphonsus having requested this favor from 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


167 


the nuns, they went in procession to bring the precious 
relic, and placed it near the tabernacle. Alphonsus in¬ 
censed it, and two minutes had scarcely elapsed, when the 
blood liquified and became of a Vermillion color, to the 
great astonishment of all present, for this miracle was never 
known to occur except on two occasions, the day of the 
celebration of his martyrdom, and that of the discovery of 
his relics. 

It was about this time, that the same Father being about to 
sail for Calabria, one evening Alphonsus called him and 
said: “I wish you would not go by water, especially by this 
ship, in which you have taken your passage. Wait a little, 
in a few days some priest or other will arrive who has 
travelled by land, and you can return on his mule.” F. 
Galdieri obeyed, and in a few days a priest came from 
Mormanno, and all happened as Alphonsus had said. But 
this was not all; the vessel in which he had taken his pas¬ 
sage, was wrecked in the Gulf of Policastro, and all on 
board had perished. 

A few days after, an event occurred much similar to the 
foregoing. One evening, when Alphonsus had still to 
recite hi3 office, and also to correct some proof-sheets 
which the printer waited for, he was sent for in all haste to 
assist a certain duchess vrho was believed to be in ex¬ 
tremity, and desired instantly to speak with him. He 
replied to the messenger: “Go, and tell the duke I am 
prevented from coming, but bid him take courage* the 
duchess will recover, and I shall see her to-morrow.” 
During the night, although the case was thought desperate, 
the duchess recovered. 

On account of all these extraordinary gifts, Alphonsus 
became the object of universal veneration and respect, but 
he only humbled himself more and more, as the following 
instance proves. Invited by the Provincial of the Jesuits to 
dine at their convent, these Fathers were anxious to have 
something that had been worn by him, and had recourse to 
the following contrivance. They remarked that his cinc¬ 
ture was completely worn out, and brought him another in 


168 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


the hope of retaining the old one, but he, guessing their 
design, fastened the new one around him, without taking 
off the old. 

Being besought by the inhabitants of Amalfi to preach 
the novena of the Assumption, he went, and as usual gath¬ 
ered much fruit. One evening, at the end of the sermon, 
he prayed to the Blessed Virgin for all present, and then 
besought his auditory to beseech her to bestow upon him 
some grace; when instantly a bright light, like a sunbeam, 
darted from the statue of the Virgin and rested on the 
figure of Alphonsus, who was elevated some height from 
the pulpit; his face glowed as fire, giving him more the 
appearance of a seraph than of a man. 

About this time he gathered together the most important 
maxims of our holy religion, in a work entitled “Prepara¬ 
tion for death.” It met with great success, producing 
throughout the kingdom the effect of a mission, and caus- 
ing many remarkable conversions. He gave then also to 
the public nine discourses with meditations for Advent, and 
a novena for Christmas, to excite a tender devotion towards 
the great mystery of the Incarnation and make its grandeur 
be comprehended, also a novena in honor of the Sacred 
Heart of Jesus, and considerations for the seven days 
which precede the feast of St. Joseph, all of which works 
had wonderful success. 

In the year 1758, many of the people of Asia, of the 
sect *of the Nestorians, having opened their eyes to the 
truth, declared to Clement XIII, their intention to re-unite 
themselves to the Roman Church, and be instructed in the 
Catholic faith. The Cardinals of the Propaganda, know¬ 
ing the zeal of Alphonsus and the devotedness of his mis.- 
sionaries, asked him for workmen to labor for the salvation 
of these people. He agreed to their proposition, and in 
July of the same year wrote to the different houses to in¬ 
form them of the circumstance, asking that those desirous 
of gaining the crown presented to them by the Lord in this 
work of so great difficulty, should inform him of their 
desire. This letter was responded to by all, every one 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


169 


being eager to give his life for Jesus Christ. Thirty of the 
novices offered themselves also for the work. Some even 
wrote their letters with their own blood, and Alphonsus 
was filled with consolation at witnessing such zeal. This 
project however was never put in execution; the circum- 
staaces which interfered to prevent it are unknown. 

In the year 1759, Mgr. Lucchese, Bishop of Girgenti, in 
Sicily, applied to Alphonsus to have the assistance of his 
missionaries in his diocese. He had met him previously in 
Naples, and had it always in mind to claim their services, 
till the following curious circumstance made him think of 
it in earnest. A swindling Neapolitan took advantage of 
the veneration in which Alphonsus was so universally held, 
to write in his name to different dioceses, requesting pe¬ 
cuniary assistance, and large sums were obtained in this 
way, for he was careful to inquire regularly at the post- 
office for the expected supplies. On one occasion, how¬ 
ever, he was forestalled by the lay-brother who had charge 
of their affairs at Naples, and who received a letter from 
this prelate with twenty ducats. Alphonsus wrote to him to 
thank him for his bounty, and thus the cheat was dis¬ 
covered ; but the correspondence ended in the missionaries 
going Ip Sicily. 

About this time,-Alphonsus undertook, with the aid of 
his missionaries, another very important work, viz: the 
reform of a royal hospital for female foundlings at Gaeta, 
which was by mismanagement reduced to a most miserable 
condition, both temporally and spiritually, the younger 
children, about four hundred in number, being entrusted 
to the care of the older ones, so that every thing about the 
place breathed only misery and sin ; and this establishment, 
founded by piety, and liberally furnished with every thing 
from the hospital of the Annunciation at Naples, resembled 
rather a stable for the body and a hell for the soul. The 
case being represented to the King, he, knowing the zeal 
of Alphonsus and his missionaries, charged them with the 
reform, which had been attempted by different zealous 
priests, but without success. Alphonsus shed tears on 
15 


170 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


hearing of such misery; he accepted the commission, and 
arranging a plan, sent the Fathers Mazzini, Fiocchi, and 
Gajano, as the best qualified to carry it into execution; and, 
after a work not of months but of years, Alphonsus sending 
often Fathers who remained there six months at a time, 
with the aid of four skilful sisters from the hospital of St. 
Vincent of Paul, at Naples, this asylum was at length con¬ 
verted from abandoned wretchedness into a little paradise, 
where prayer and mortification, silence and recollection 
reigned, and all virtues were practised, to the delight of 
Alphonsus and the great satisfaction of the King. 

Always burning with the desire of saving souls, Alphon¬ 
sus published about this time, 1759, several works calcu¬ 
lated to promote this end. 1st, the Great Means of Prayer. 
This book may be said to be the essence of the soundest 
theology ; it was regarded as a chef-d’oeuvre by the most 
learned theologians of Naples and Rome. He himself says 
in the preface to it, that he wished to have the means to 
print as many copies of it as there are men in the world, 
in order to be able to place one in the hands of each, the 
neglect of prayer being the cause of the ruin of all the 
damned. 2d, a learned dissertation entitled, “ Of the just 
Prohibition of Bad Books,” in which lie demonstrated the 
necessity of interdicting the sale of dangerous works, and 
proved that the Church, from her birth, had not ceased to 
prohibit and destroy them, replying also to the objections 
of adversaries who refused this power to the Pope. The 
Marquis Tanucci was displeased that such a work had been 
printed, and sent immediately the agents of police to the 
different booksellers to seize all the copies. This persecu¬ 
tion vexed Alphonsus, who represented to the minister and 
other members of the council, that he had published the 
work only to obviate great evils, and without the slightest 
intention to give offence to the King. This representation 
was as water thrown on the fire, and produced immediate 
benefit. On the other hand the incident made a great noise, 
and the book, which had been previously little known, was 
so eagerly sought after, that the booksellers raised the 


LIFE OF ST. A.LPHONSUS. 


171 


price, and, to supply the demand, secretly printed many 
more copies in the course of two nights. 3d, the True 
Spouse of Jesus Christ, published while he was in Naples, 
during Lent, 1760, and, notwithstanding his weakness 
caused by excessive fatigues and many infirmities, gave 
retreats in several convents; an admirable work, useful not 
only to monks and nuns in particular, but also to seculars. 
In it he treats of the practice of all Christian virtues, and 
gives lessons by which all may profit according to their 
state. 4th, Reflections and affections on the Passion of 
Jesus Christ, simply stated according to the writings of the 
Holy Evangelists, a book admirably calculated to imprint 
deeply in the hearts of the faithful the Passion of Jesus 
Christ, and to animate them in making it the object of their 
meditation. 5th, under the title of “Silva of Matters to 
be preached,” he published about this time a collection of 
instructions extracted from the Holy Scriptures, the Canons, 
and the Fathers, by means of which ecclesiastics could 
give the exercises in retreats. In the first and second 
parts he treats of the sacerdotal dignity, its end and sanc¬ 
tity, and of the virtues proper to the ministers of Jesus 
Christ. The third part contains the principal rules of pop¬ 
ular eloquence, to aid preachers in acquitting themselves 
with successin the exercise of preachingand giving missions. 

All the arrangements necessary for the foundation at Gir- 
genti in Sicily, having now been agreed upon, Alphonsus 
sent a colony towards the middle of September, composed 
of F. Blasucci, Superior, and F. Francis Pentimalli, and 
two others. They embarked under a cloudless sky, and the 
vessel was soon in sight of Palermo; but at the moment 
they were about to land, they were overtaken by a violent 
tempest, and the vessel was thrown back into the Gulf of 
Naples, where they were forced to run aground. When 
the sea became calm, they set sail a second time; but again 
a storm came on, when they were opposite Palermo, which 
drove them into the Straits of Procida; they made a third 
attempt; but the more they endeavored to reach the Sicilian 
shore, the more the powers of hell seemed to set all in 


172 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


motion to oppose them. Again they neared Palermo, 
when a third tempest was let loose upon the unfortunate 
boat, which, being tossed about, at length was nearly lost 
between the‘Islands of Corsica and Sardinia, the vessel 
being so much damaged, that the passengers were hopeless 
of escaping. All this was seen by Alphonsus in spirit, 
and at the moment of their danger, he was heard to cry, 
while he raised his tearful eyes to heaven: “My poor 
children! my poor children!” He approached the window," 
looked^at the weather, and sighed, then turned away, still 
repeating, “My poor children!” Those who witnessed 
this scene could not comprehend it, for they believed the 
Fathers had arrived in Sicily long before, and they said so 
to Alphonsus in order to calm him, but without success, 
he still continued to sigh and to repeat; “My poor chil¬ 
dren!” The tempest lasted more than twenty-four hours. 
On the third day the vessel with great difficulty reached 
Baja; their safety was an evident miracle wrought by the 
prayers of Alphonsus. The terrified missionaries, more 
dead than alive, took the way to Nocera, and the joy of 
Alphonsus may be imagined, when he saw his dear children 
once more in safety. 

The missionaries had hardly taken a little breath in 
safety after their fatigues and dangers, when they were 
again despatched to embark anew, but another annoyance 
awaited them. Two vessels from the Levant had been 
shipwrecked near the port of Messina, and for fear of the 
plague all communication with Sicily was forbidden. 
Father Pentimalli, seeing it impossible, for the moment, to 
proceed, halted at St. Euphemia, his native place; but 
scarcely had he arrived, when he was seized by a violent 
fever, which carried him off in three days. This loss 
afflicted Alphonsus deeply, F. Pentimalli being one of his 
best missionaries. But this affliction was softened by hear¬ 
ing at length of the safe arrival of the others at Girgenti, 
and their joyful reception. 

After their departure, Alphonsus, like an old soldier who 
wishes nothing so much as to die sword in hand, went to 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 173 

war against the enemies of God, on the old field of Amalfi. 
The Lord, in order to show the favor with which He re¬ 
garded him, performed several miracles through his hands. 
The town was ravaged by an epidemic which seemed to 
defy the power of medicine. A canon who had great con¬ 
fidence in the merits of Alphonsus, begged F. Galdieri to 
give him the shirt the Saint took off after the sermon. He did 
so, another always being brought in exchange. On being 
asked what he did with them, he replied : “ During this 
mortal epidemic, all those who have put on one of F. Al- 
phonsus’ shirts have immediately been cured.” \yhen be " 
went to, and returned from, the church, he was the object of 
such veneration, that the canons were obliged to escort him 
to save him from the pressure of the crowd, who precipitated 
themselves upon him to get his benediction, while some, 
armed with scissors, cut pieces from his mantle. 

The nuns of Conca besought him to come and give a 
sermon to their community, and during the voyage by sea 
they passed several fishing vessels, whose crews had been 
casting their nets without success. The poor people com¬ 
plained bitterly of their ill-luck, and besought Alphonsus 
to bless the sea, and scarcely had he done so, when the 
fish appeared in myriads, and their vessels were loaded. 

After finishing the exercises at Amalfi, several convents 
of nuns at Naples besought him to visit them. He accord¬ 
ingly went, and preached with great success. At the con¬ 
vent of St. Marcellina, he found one of the pupils, Catha¬ 
rine Spinelli, dangerously ill; he visited her when she was 
almost on the point of expiring. “ Catharine,” he said, 
‘would you wish to live, or die?” “I wish to live,” 
replied the young girl. Alphonsus then made the sign of 
the cross upon her and said : “ You will live, but you must 
become a saint.” She was instantly cured ; after some¬ 
time, she became a nun, and attained a high degree of 
sanctity. 

He returned again to the capital during the following 
Lent, when he gave a retreat in the church of Purgatory 
to a great many students and priests, strangers, as well as 
15 * 


174 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


Neapolitans. Inflamed with the desire of seeing priests 
attentive to the fitting celebration of the holy mysteries, he 
published, during this visit to Naples, a work in which he 
showed the necessity of observing the holy rubrics, and 
gives salutary instructions on the dispositions with which 
the holy sacrifice ought to be celebrated. He published 
also a letter addressed to a religious, on the manner of 
preaching Jesus crucified, with evangelical simplicity, and 
avoiding the vain ornaments of a florid style. He sent this 
letter to all the superiors of religious orders, and every one 
admired the high degree of sacred eloquence which he 
possessed, and his extreme desire that all should strive to 
excel in the same, so as to preach Jesus Christ and effec¬ 
tually gain souls for him. Besides this retreat, he preached 
penance in the barracks, and scandals disappeared. He 
also gave missions in the different parishes. On one occa¬ 
sion, preaching in the church of the Holy Spirit, he sud¬ 
denly exclaimed in a transport: “0 thou who enterest 
here, and who flatterest thyself that thou canst be saved in 
the world as well as in a convent, unhappy that thou art, 
how far thou art wandering! but ere long thou shalt come 
to a deplorable end.” At that moment, a young Calabrian 
had entered the church, who, led away by his passions, had 
long struggled against the grace that had been calling him 
to a religious life. He applied to himself the words of 
Alphonsus, and yet he dared to smile at the menace. But 
a month had scarcely elapsed, when he was killed by a 
musket shot. When dying, he told his friends what had 
happened in the church of the Holy Spirit. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


175 


CHAPTER XVII. 

JUphonsus ’ Maxims and Conduct in his quality of Founder 
and Superior of a Religious Order. 

A LPHONSUS was now nearly seventy years of age. 

Laden with infirmities, he believed himself already at 
the end of his course, but God had ordained otherwise, 
viz: that he should be raised to the episcopal dignity, and 
become a perfect model of a fervent and zealous bishop, as 
he had successively been a perfect model of a fervent and 
perfect layman, ecclesiastic, and missionary. But before 
we follow him in this new career, let us relate some of his 
maxims and actions, particularly relating to his quality of 
Superior and Founder of a religious order. 

His first care was to inspire his missionaries with a true 
zeal for the salvation of souls. Therefore he was often 
heard to say to them: “ What have we to do in the world, 
and for what purpose have we withdrawn into the Congre¬ 
gation, if not to devote ourselves to the glory of God ? 
We are his adopted children, and more than all others 
ought to fight in the first ranks against his enemies without 
anxiety for life or death, since he has given His life for us.” 
And again: “The love of Jesus Christ constrains us, irre¬ 
sistibly forces us, to love Him and make others love Him. 
If sin be not pursued by us, against whom shall we make 
war? It makes me ready to die, when I see a priest in¬ 
different about any thing that concerns the honor of God.” 
“Our employment,” he used to say, “is the same as that 
exercised by Jesus Christ himself and His Apostles. He 
who has not the spirit of Jesus Christ, nor the zeal of the 
Apostles, is not fit for this ministry.” 

Next he required humility, saying: “It is this virtue 
which makes us respected by the people; it is this which 
gains and attracts sinners, however haughty and proud 
they may be. If the missionary wants humility, he wants 


176 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


all, and I know not whether the evil he will do will not be 
greater than the good he pretends to do, for how can God 
aid him who resists Him?” “It is not possible,” he said, 
speaking of the humility and submission due to bishops, 
and particularly curates, with whom they came in more 
immediate contact, “ it is not possible that God will bless 
our missions, if we fail in respect and humility towards the 
heads of the churches, and if we do not put ourselves 
entirely under them.” Having heard, on one occasion, that 
a missionary had shown a want of submission to a bishop, 
he punished him immediately, and sent him at once to 
make the fullest apology for his conduct. He also exacted' 
from his missionaries, humility towards each other, and 
more especially towards superiors, whose will he would 
have respected and fulfilled without delay. Every other 
failing was pardonable in his eyes, but .this he considered 
inexcusable. Resistance on this point was always fol¬ 
lowed by expulsion. He was willing that every diffi¬ 
culty which he might not have foreseen should be pointed 
out to the superior, but he required that it should be 
done simply, without the least intention of resisting. “ If 
obedience is wanting in a religious institute,” he said, “all 
is wanting, for disorders, confusion, and trouble will be the 
result; a vessel guided by several pilots can hardly escape 
shipwreck, or at least she will make a very dangerous 
voyage.” It was enough for any one to push himself 
forward, in order to be forgotten. A Father once com¬ 
plained that it was long since he had been appointed for 
the principal sermon in the evening. This was enough, 
he was not allowed to preach at all; and he was so vexed 
at the possibility of never appearing in the pulpit again, 
that he abandoned the Congregation. 

Another characteristic he exacted from his missionaries, 
was a spirit of mortification and a love of suffering. With¬ 
out these qualifications, he considered them unfit to be 
employed. We have already seen how much he insisted, 
in missions, on mortification and austerity with regard to 
food. He gave once a severe reprimand to, and imposed a 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


177 


penance on, Father Villani, for a very slight deviation from 
the regulations he had established on this point. “Men 
of the world,” he said, “ pay more attention to what is 
done than to what is said, and above all they remark the 
conduct of missionaries.” And again: “They will not 
fail, when you are in their house, to insist and entreat,.they 
will even appear displeased, if you refuse what they offer, 
but always decline; they will be edified by your firmness, 
when they would have been surprised, and perhaps have made 
you the subject of raillery, had you yielded.” He abhorred 
the slightest appearance of delicacy, above all in him who 
preached the evening sermon, whoever he might be. At 
the mission of Salerno they had every day rancid cheese, 
and a Father took the liberty of asking that his morsel 
might be roasted. Alphonsus reprimanded him on the 
instant, although he was an old man, and a most zealous 
missionary. He distinguished, however, between what was 
delicacy, and a reasonable care for health. “ Health,” said 
he, “is the capital of the missionary; if that fails, he 
becomes bankrupt.” But he charged the Superior to 
attend to that, and forbade the others to interfere, and 
rigorously exacted that no discontent should be shown 
with regard to food or lodging. 

He disliked all familiarity and intimacy with laymen, and 
still less could he endure any species of idle discourse, 
unworthy as it is of the sacred character of the ministry. 
“ I recommend,” he said, “ not to seek relaxation with any 
one whatever. It* is necessary to be civil, but also to be 
serious, with every one, that they may conceive and also 
preserve esteem for the missionaries, in whom they ought 
to find men holy and without reproach; this is necessary if 
we would produce good. When we hold too much conver¬ 
sation with people of the world, and talk of things not spi¬ 
ritual, we let them perceive in us a thousand faults, which 
hinders the success of the mission.If any one neg¬ 

lects to correct himself on this point, I will no longer send 
him on missions.” He forbade with the same severity, as 
well in missions as at home, all species of unnecessary visits. 



178 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


Preaching being one great means of laboring for the 
conversion of sinners, Alphonsus was anxious that his 
missionaries should acquit themselves well in this work. 
Pie desired they should in every sermon preach Christ 
crucified. “He who does not preach Christ crucified,” 
he said, “ preaches himself, violates his ministry, and does 
no good.” He required a simple and popular style that 
every one could understand, and he compared to balloons 
filled with air, those who, puffed up with their own impor¬ 
tance, made fine discourses which they could hardly com¬ 
prehend themselves. “ When the devil wishes to hinder the 
preaching of the Gospel,” he said, “ he makes use of such 
preachers, to paralyze its effects. Miserable wretches, they 
will be condemned, not for having hidden their talents in 
the earth, but for having drawn no profit from them.” He 
insisted on reasons and not on words, and clear and solid 
reasons too. He disliked studied and far-fetched com¬ 
parisons, but recommended such as were suited to the 
people. “Jesus Christ,” he said, “understood rhetoric better 
than we, yet to be better comprehended by the multitude, 

Pie chose ordinary comparisons in His parables. 

The end the preacher ought to propose to himself is to 
persuade and to move. If the people be not convinced, 
(and how should they, if they do not understand ?) they will 
form no good resolutions, and they will not forsake sin. 
. . . . . What would suit Boccacio, will not suit in a 
preacher of the Gospel, and many who stud.y Dante and 
Boccacio will expiate their folly in purgatory.” He was 
himself a perfect model of this apostolic simplicity, as we 
have already seen, and as is confirmed by the following 
testimony. Mgr. Carnovale having once been present at a 
sermon of Alphonsus, while yet very young, he said to 
himself, when he heard his simple and gentle manner: 
“This is time lost, F. Alphonsus deceives himself, if he thinks 
to touch rocks with such mild words.” But when the ser¬ 
mon was finished, he beheld thousands weeping and sobbing 
bitterly; crowds of young men, known for their loose and 
irregular conduct, were converted by his simple eloquence. 




LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


179 


He watched over the young preachers with the greatest 
care. One Saturday, on his return to Nocera from Naples, 
he was to preach the sermon of the Blessed Virgin, as he 
had vowed always to preach in her honor on that day of 
the week ; but being suddenly attacked by fever, the young 
F. Alexander de Meo was appointed in his place. Not 
being prepared, he enlarged on several learned subjects 
not suited to the people, and spoke of the times pre¬ 
vious to the birth of Mary, and introduced the Sybils and 
the Argonauts. When Alphonsus, who had been brought 
to the choir in spite of his fever, heard these words, he be¬ 
came restless, and leaning towards the others demanded: 
“Is it thus they preach here!” They knew not what to 
answer, and F. Alexander went on in the same style. Al¬ 
phonsus rose, he sat down, he knelt, and said: “I must 
make him come down immediately. Go,” said he to a lay- 
brother, “and tell him to descend instantly,” and almost im¬ 
mediately he interrupted the sermon by intoning the “Tan- 
tum Ergo.” But this correction did not stop here; on 
entering the house, the poor Father met Alphonsus on the 
stairs, and falling on his knees, begged pardon. After hav¬ 
ing reproved him for the impropriety of his sermon, he con¬ 
demned him to remain silent during three days, and also to 
abstain from saying mass. 

He exacted from confessors the greatest prudence and 
the most profound skill, as from their decisions there would 
be no appeal. He was scrupulous and even rigid in the 
examination of confessors, and would not confide this to 
another, but examined them himself, sometimes employing 
ten or twelve days, interrogating them upon all they had been 
taught, and if he did not think the candidate fully capable, 
he delayed giving him faculties. He inculcated upon con¬ 
fessors, as the thing most essential of all, to use the greatest 
charity and gentleness towards sinners. •“ The spirit of 
harshness and rigor,” he said, “ is what distinguishes the 
Jansenists, who do much more harm than good, and cer¬ 
tainly have neither the spirit of Jesus Christ, nor that 
of those apostolic men whom we honor on our altars. . . . 


180 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


An energetic word is sometimes necessary to make the 
sinner comprehend the gravity of his crimes, but this ener¬ 
getic word must not be repulsive, and before he withdraws, 
he must be calmed by kind words, so that he be at the same 
time full of hatred for his sin and of confidence in his Con¬ 
fessor.” On another occasion he said: “If it happens 
that you feel yourself overpowered by bad humor, leave the 
confessional on the instant, because with your irritability 
you will cause your penitents to commit more sacrileges 
than you will do good to them.” He could not suffer the 
least shadow of gallantry towards any woman, and recom¬ 
mended the greatest reserve with them. He regarded as a 
scandal having respect of persons in the confessional, all 
the world being equal before God. “ Show charity,” he 
said, “but not partiality. Ladies of quality will make way 
for themselves, but it is not the missionary’s business to 
take care of them, we ought to be equally at the service of 
all, and ready to receive every body with kindness.” 
Neither would he permit any preference to be given to a 
gentleman. 

When he noticed a Father much sought after in the 
church, he immediately changed his residence. There was 
a young Father whom he had been at great trouble to 
educate, and whom he loved for his excellent talents. 
When he was authorized to enter the confessional, a great 
number of young penitents came to him, apparently at¬ 
tracted by his gracious manner. This displeased Alphon- 
sus, who, fearing unpleasant consequences, wished to send 
him to another house. He resisted; but Alphonsus said: 
“ Either obey, or leave the Congregation.” He would not 
submit, and was expelled. 

On the other hand, to encourage the timid, and inspire 
all with a great desire to help souls by means of the con¬ 
fessional, he said : “ The preacher sows, but the confessor 
gathers the harvest. The confessional is the touchstone of 
the true laborer; he who loves not the confessional, loves 
not souls, to whom is applied there the blood of Jesus 
Christ, and the merits of His grace. In the sacred tribunal 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


181 


we gather fruit for ourselves and for our penitents; it is not 
so with the pulpit. If we do good by a sermon, a breath of 
vanity can make the preacher return with his hands empty. 
It is otherwise in the confessional, vanity does not ente 
there, but patience is necessary.” He could not endure 
the idea of a confessor being shocked at the thought of 
hearing a very wicked individual, and who sought pretexts 
for refusing to listen to such persons. He considered this 
as a great fault, and insisted that they should willingly 
listen to all, and that if they could not give them absolu¬ 
tion, they should at least point out to them the means of 
amending, and encourage them to return to them again. 
He was especially delighted when he saw any of his young 
priests desirous to seek out those abandoned souls. 

He exacted from the priests of his Congregation a pro¬ 
found and continued study of moral theology. “ This 
study,” he said, “ shows us our own ignorance, and hinders 
us from erring. The Rigorists and Jansenists of our day are 
ignorant on the science of morals, hence they are so extrava¬ 
gant and absurd. They wish to be considered masters, al¬ 
though they have never been disciples.” A member of the 
Congregation, a learned and talented professor, fascinated 
by the opinions of the Rigorists, had constructed for him¬ 
self a most incoherent system, and hesitated not to combat 
the opinions of Alphonsus, condemning the wisest authors, 
and speaking of them with contempt. As confessor, he ruined 
souls; as professor, he misled the young students. Alphonsus 
labored long to correct him, but seeing his efforts useless, 
he took his office from him, sent him to another house, and 
forbade him to hear confessions. The unfortunate man 
was offended by the correction, and not having the courage 
to suffer mortification, haughtily demanded a dispensation 
from his vows. Alphonsus employed the mediation of 
others to convince him of his errors, but all in vain. At 
length he said: “My son, you abandon the Congregation,, 
and you persist in your errors, but tremble, for you will 
make a miserable end.” He departed, but God was not 
slow in chastising him; in a very short time a horrible 
16 


182 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHON3US. 


cancer appeared in his face, and finding peace nowhere, 
he ran about the streets, uttering cries of despair. When 
about to die, he besought with tears to be re-instated in the 
Congregation, that he might not die in despair. In con¬ 
sideration of his condition, his request was granted by F. 
Villani, Alphonsus being then bishop. 

To inspire all with a true sense of humility, he said: 
“ Humility is necessary in the mission, and it is necessary 
in the house; my brethren, humility at all times and in all 

places, if we would please God.He who has 

humility will have sanctity, but without humility all fails.” 
The very name of pride and self-love was odious to him as 
blasphemy. “This accursed self-love,” he used to say, 
“ruins daily multitudes of laymen, priests, and religious; it 
sends numbers into purgatory, and many into hell. If this 
accursed spirit comes into the Congregation, better it would 
be if it should be destroyed. I beseech God to destroy it, 
the moment such sentiments are tolerated.” It happened 
one day, that a Father chanced to use the expression, “ On 
my honor.” This was worse than heresy in the eyes of Al¬ 
phonsus. In the next conference he continually repeated, 
“On my honor!” “Our honor,” said he, “is, to be de¬ 
spised, vilified, and to be, like Jesus Christ, the opprobrium 
of men, and the abjection of the people.” 

Alphonsus never approved of the indiscretions of exces¬ 
sive zeal; he thought them a cause of unnecessary pain to 
others, and he dreaded the odium that they might cast on 
the Congregation. To give an example, there was a 
diocese which was dissatisfied with its bishop. Father 
Rizzi’s zeal led him to write to the bishop to inform him of 
what had happened, and to remind him of his duty. When 
Alphonsus heard of it, he wrote to his Superior: “Tell 
Father Rizzi, that he has done wrong. He has acted 
through zeal, but he does not seem to know that we are 
forbidden to meddle with things out of the confessional, 

which may cause embarrassment to others.He 

must say three Ave Marias as a penance, and when his 
lordship comes to the house, let him go to him privately 




LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


183 


and throw himself at his feet, confessing his indiscretion 
and asking for forgiveness.” 

Poverty and obedience were the foundations on which 
Alphonsus erected the whole structure of his Cono-rega- 
tion ; he said that if these two virtues always remained 
therein in full vigor, they would sustain it against all 
attacks, and that fervor would continue constantly to be on 
the increase. Although all about them had an air ot 
poverty and misery, it was still too sumptuous for Alphon¬ 
sus, who forgot the magnificence and the grandeurs of the 
world, and had only St. Peter of Alcantara’s cave before his 
eyes. Pie wished indeed that poverty should reign amongst 
his sons, but not such a degree of misery as to be contrary 
to decency. One day, he saw a young cleric in a pair of 
shoes which were thoroughly worn out; he did not speak, 
but he cast such looks at the shoes and at the Superior, 
that the latter immediately understood his meaning; and 
if he saw any Superior was negligent in procuring what 
was necessary for the subjects, he became excited by a 
holy zeal, reprimanded him, and even chastised him for it. 
He was particularly dissatisfied when he saw a Superior 
act with indulgence towards himself on this point, and with 
severity towards others. “Oh,” he exclaimed, “how many 
Superiors will be damned at the Day of Judgment for hav¬ 
ing themselves violated the vow of poverty, and given a blow 
to charity and the common life in others.” 

He heard that F. Fiocchi had caused pewter dishes to be 
used in the house of Uiceto, in place of earthenware ones; 
he immediately wrote to him to say that he must sell all 
these dishes. It was in vain that various reasons for keep¬ 
ing them were alleged, and that he was told that, as earthen¬ 
ware dishes easily broke, and the house was far from a 
pottery, they occasioned great expense every year. “Pov¬ 
erty,” he replied,. “ thinks of the quality of things, and 
that which suits it best, is that which is the vilest and 
coarsest. There is no example of such vanity, even in the 
less austere orders; he who is poor and professes poverty, 
ought to be poor in all things.” Father Sportelli, when 


184 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


building, asked if he approved of a cornice which had been 
commenced under the edge of the roof; but Alphonsus 
blamed this as a luxury; he wished that nothing but the 
unpolished stones should be seen on the exterior of the 
buildings. While F. Cajone was Superior at Caposele, the 
choir of the church was put in order, and a new library was 
put up. The brother put little cornices on the stalls in the 
choir, and round the upper par't of the library. Alphonsus 
no sooner heard of these trifling ornaments, than he wrote 
to F. Cajone, in a tone of great reproof: “You ought to 
know, that I do not choose to have any ornaments either 
in the choir or in the library. You must submit to this. 
If you have put any, you must take them away, and let all 
be quite simple. Poverty loves what is simple and neces¬ 
sary, but not what is superfluous.” Some of the Fathers 
began to use snuff-boxes of varnished paste-board oroT yel¬ 
low leather; as soon as Alphonsus saw it, he immediately 
forbade them to do so again, and wished wooden ones 
always to be used, as before. One day he saw a hat which 
shone more than the others ; that was enough to make him 
prohibit its further use and consider it as a scandal. Some 
of the Fathers told him that common cloth was not durable 
enough for the mantellas and capotes , and that this material 
was prejudicial to poverty instead of favoring it, and that 
the houses of the Congregation would gain by buying cloth 
of a better quality. “It is we,” answered he, “who have 
made the vow of poverty, and not the houses; and it is we, 
and not the houses, who must submit to the consequences 
of this vow. Common cloth humbles and abases, and that 
is required by poverty.” F. Ferrara represented to him 
several times, that brass lamps would cause less expense 
than earthen ones, which easily break and cause the oil to 
be wasted. All these reasons were unavailing, Alphonsus 
remained firm, because his only motive for not yielding 
was that brass was a luxury, while earthenware was more 
conformable to evangelical poverty. The prompt and per¬ 
fect obedience which he exacted to his own orders, as we 
have seen above, he exacted also to those of all other Su- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


185 


periors. “It is not wonderful,” he often said, “ if I am 
obeyed, but I wish an equal submission to be shown to 
whoever presides over any exercise, for, whatever may be 
his personal merits, he holds the office of Superior. If 
this is not attended to, mischief is done, and we shall see 
nothing but disorder and confusion.” One of the most 
distinguished of the Fathers, but one tormented at times 
by a fretful temper, blamed, in a fit of melancholy, some 
regulations which his Superior had made about a mission. 
Alphonsus heard of this, and although he felt compassion 
for him on account of his illness, he nevertheless wrote to 
him in the following terms: “I have been relieved to hear 
of your recovery; but I have been distressed to find, that 
you have given vent to some observations in regard to your 
Superior which were not at all right. Many things may 
appear absurd, which it is, however, reasonable to approve, 
because their motive is not known. If each subject wishes 
to do what seems to him to be the best, obedience no 
longer exists. I must, therefore, beg you, when things do 
not appear to you to be done as they might be at any other 
time, to state your opinion with simplicity, and then do 
nothing beyond writing to tell me what you think is wrong.” 

He was still more alarmed at hearing that the subjects of 
the Congregation had united together against the will of a 
Superior, for this was a fault which he never pardoned. 
“ Public murmurs against a Superior,” he wrote on one 
occasion, “are unpardonable faults, and deserve a severe 
punishment.” The lay-brothers once complained of hav¬ 
ing been deprived of the siesta after dinner during the 
winter; as their discontent had been public, Alphonsus 
wished their penance to be so also. He deprived the two 
chief subjects of the habit for a considerable time, he con¬ 
demned them to dine on their knees, to do without fruit or 
meat, and not to receive holy communion oftener than every 
eight days. Intercessions were made in their favor, but he 
was inexorable. He was accustomed to say that obedience 
works miracles, when it is exercised with promptitude and 
submission of mind ; and that, on the other hand, the sub- 
16 * 


186 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


ject goes astray, when he tries to set himself up to judge of 
the thing commanded, and to deviate from the will of his 
Superior. 

With regard to the observance of the rule in general, he 
was careful to see it always kept up in full vigor. He 
often said that he would prefer to see the Congregation 
dissolved, notwithstanding all the trouble its establishment 
had cost him, rather than see any want of discipline in 
it. When he was importuned by requests to found new 
houses, he replied: “ Why should we wish to found new 
monasteries? Where there is no family there can be no 
observance of the rule. What I am anxious for, is to see 
fervor increase in the Congregation, and not to increase 
the number of houses.” He never consented to any foun¬ 
dation, before he had enough subjects to form a community 
in which the rule would be perfectly observed. It happened 
once in the house of Nocera, that some dispensed them¬ 
selves from assisting in the choir at the public exercises in 
the morning, either on the plea of not having slept well, 
or under some other pretext. Alphonsus, who attributed it 
to idle sloth, and not to any real necessity, ordered the 
brother infirmarian to take them a cup of tea after prayers, 
and to reiterate the same thing at every following hour, 
ordering them not to get up before the doctor’s arrival. 
This had the desired effect, all the ills vanished, and the 
choir was filled before the time, every morning afterwards. 

Speaking one day about the necessity of silence and of 
interior recollection, he said : “ This rule is the rule of 
rules; if we observe it faithfully, we shall become saints. 

.The author of the Following of Christ says that 

the pious soul profits much by silence and repose; it is 
through them that she penetrates into the secret things of 
the Scriptures; it is there that she finds the source of those 
tears which wash and purify her. My fathers and brothers, 
Jet us not complain if we feel ourselves to be imperfect 
through dryness and want of recollection. Let us speak 
kittle to men, so as to be able to converse much with God, 
and he will act differently towards us, and will raise us up 



LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


187 


to a state of holiness.” “ Without recollection of mind,” 
he also often said, “ there can be no spirit of prayer, and 
those who go to the choir in this disposition of mind, go 
to torture; every instant seems an age to them, they come 
distracted, and they go away distracted ; they lead a mise¬ 
rable life, neither possessing God, nor enjoying the world.” 
In a word, Alphonsus desired that his missionaries should 
be Apostles in missions, and Carthusians in the house. 
“ When you are without,” he said, “you ought to sanctify 
others, but when within, you must sanctify yourselves.” 

With regard to tepidity, he one day said : “My fathers, 
let us drive away tepidity: the tepid soul is an object of 
disgust to God ; she is a burden to the community and to 
herself. Let us reform ourselves, and betake ourselves to 
our former fervor, if we wish to please God, to be a comfort 
to the Congregation, and to live a holy and happy life.” 
When he met with any who were afflicted by this malady, 
he did all he could to cure them. He called them to him, 
and warned them, as a father, of their danger. The incor- 
rigibles often caused him loss of sleep. He made use of 
the spiritual exercises, retreats for some days, and reite¬ 
rated warnings, and did not give up his efforts, until he saw 
that the case was a desperate one. 

He made use of three methods for delivering the Con¬ 
gregation from these incurables. The first was to torment 
them by frequent punishments, by mortifications, and pen¬ 
ances. When they found themselves treated so severely, 
these miserable and unenergetic subjects declared that they 
would not bear such a burden, and asked for a dispense 
from the oath of perseverance. The second method was 
to keep them in the house, and to forbid them to practice 
any apostolic works whatever. “The rebels,” he said, 
“ have a stronger desire to labor than the most fervent 
subjects, not from a zealous wish to win souls to*God, but 
to enjoy greater liberty.” The third, and not the least 
efficacious one, consisted in causing them to change their 
abode, and in sending them to whatever monastery pleased 
them the least, because of being either the most incommo- 


188 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


dious or the least frequented. Besides the constraint 
which they experienced from this change, they were also 
subjected to the pains and privations of the first two 
methods. If they were dangerous and likely to cause 
trouble in the Congregation, Alphonsus tried the effect of 
leaving them in a sort of abandonment, by not appearing 
to take any further care of them ; he gave them leave to 
return to their families, without fixing the time of their 
return. Thus abandoned, they returned to the world, and 
themselves renounced the Congregation, to which they had 
no further desire to return, or else, he let them know after 
some time, that they had nothing more to do with the Con¬ 
gregation. There was one who caused great torment to 
Alphonsus, and to several Superiors. Repeated correc¬ 
tions and charitable offices had had no effect upon him. 
He asked for permission to go and see his relations, and 
obtained it; after some months had elapsed, Alphonsus 
pronounced his expulsion from the Congregation, and pre¬ 
dicted that he would come to a most miserable end. In 
fact, after having committed several excesses, the unfortu¬ 
nate man perished a victim to one of his enemies, who 
caused him to swallow poison at the altar on Holy Wed¬ 
nesday, and on Good Friday, when all the bells were silent, 
he was buried as an infamous person, and his corpse was 
exposed to examination in presence of the officers of 
justice, and a crowd of spectators. 

To inspire his sons with a high idea of their vocation, 
and thus to encourage them to correspond with it and put 
off the old man, he said, that vocation and predestination 
were one and the same thing, and that the having been 
chosen by God to form a part of a rising Congregation, 
was a grace, which, of itself, required in us a great degree 
of perfection and holiness. “In calling us to this state,” 
he said, *God has not conferred a merely ordinary grace 
on us, but one which is as great as it is uncommon. We 
must therefore pray that Almighty God may cause us to 
understand the value of this grace, for if we do not corres¬ 
pond to so holy a vocation, We shall run the risk of eternal 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


189 


ruin. God has chosen us to be coadjutors of His Blessed 
Son, and to rescue souls from the grasp of the devil.” 
“ We ought to be most thankful to God,” he said on 
another occasion, “ for having taken us out of the world 
and led us to enter into His house, where the truths of 
faith are always put before our mind by frequent medita¬ 
tions, spiritual reading, pious discourses, and good ex¬ 
amples. All these things are a great help to us in difficult 
positions; whereas those who are in the world, from only 
thinking and speaking of the things in the world, have few 
good ideas and many depraved ones in their imagination 
which cause them to give way on the least temptation.” 

When any one of them was on the point of death, the 
pious Superior felt a mixture of sadness and joy; he wept 
for the loss of a laborer, but he rejoiced much more at see¬ 
ing a saint die ; he therefore wished that the day of his 
death should be one of common recreation at table, instead 
of mourning. 

He was not satisfied with ordinary holiness in those be¬ 
longing to him; he wished them to aim higher. “We 
know not the secrets of God,” he said, “ nor on what con¬ 
ditions He may have caused our predestination to depend. 
He who is called to great holiness does not satisfy the 
heart of Jesus Christ by a low degree; if we do not aim 
very high, we shall not easily succeed in reaching the end 
which God has appointed for us.” 

If any reverse of fortune had befallen the parents of any 
of them, he pitied their distress, and wishing to preserve 
their vocation, he did not hesitate to relieve their families, 
in spite of the great want under which he himself labored; 
he did so on many occasions, by giving up to them the 
fees of their masses. Some of the Fathers thought that 
such instances of charity were excessive, on account of 
the poverty of the Congregation ; but Alphonsus replied, 
that charity can never fall into excess, and that God repays 
all that is given in his name. His affliction was extreme, 
when he saw one overcome by temptation and ready to fall 
back. If these combats were caused by temptation, he 


190 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


pitied the subject, and tried to aid him by his prayers and 
those of others, he even forgave him some impertinence. 
In such a case he wrote to one most graciously: “St. Paul, 
the first hermit, said to St. Anthony the abbot, who begged 
him to open the door, or else he should die on the spot, 

‘ this is a new way of begging, you beg with a menace.’ 

I say the same thing to you. I feel pity in seeing the 
strife that has arisen in your heart: who ever sent you to 
Iliceto as a punishment? And then, just observe what you 
say: ‘Otherwise I shall ask for a dispensation.’ This is 
very well, but who will give it to you ? Another time I 
trust you will not be so angry. I repeat that I forgive you, 
for it is not you who speak, it is temptation. But let us 
have patience, and wait till this noxious influence has 
passed away.” These words drove away his temptation 
and restored him to peace. But when he was convinced, 
that in any one these combats rather proceeded from malice 
of self-will, and that he had lost the grace of God, and 
therefore no longer cared for his soul nor for him, AI- 
phonsus did not hesitate an instant to free him from the oath 
of perseverance, although he did so with great regret, and 
often accompanied the act by the most fatal predictions; 
he considered such a dispensation as a very passport to 
the devil’s house, and only gave it in tears. 

To one, carried away by excessive attachment to his 
mother, as nothing succeeded in turning him aside from 
his purpose, Alphonsus at last said, on seeing his obfctinacy, 
“ I give you leave, but you will come to a bad end.” The 
prediction was fulfilled. The unhappy man went away, and 
returned home, where he became the victim of God’s anger 
and that of man also; he was despised by all priests, and a 
prey to a thousand contradictions. But his own mother 
caused him the greatest distress of all; for though he was 
seriously ill, she turned him out of doors, and he ended 
his life, deprived of every sort of assistance, in a miserable 
out-of-the-way hovel. 

Alphonsus took no further pains about those who left the 
Congregation in this way, or who had caused themselves 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


191 


to be expelled from it, and there is no instance of any one 
of them ever having been admitted again by him. Any 
further intercourse with these deserters was forbidden, and 
they were considered as so many heathens and publicans. 
No reiterated requests to be admitted again, no interces¬ 
sion in their favor, caused their wishes to be granted, the 
prayers of the most influential persons, such as those of 
our oldest fathers, or bishops, would not prevail on the holy 
Superior. One who had been sent away, perceiving what 
a deplorable state he was in, presented himself before Al- 
phonsus, threw himself at his feet, and all bathed in 
tears, entreated him to admit him again ; but he was im¬ 
moveable. This Father, knowing that he never refused 
any thing he was asked in the name of the Blessed Virgin, 
conjuredahim to pardon him for the love of Mary. But 
Alphonsus replied vehemently, “The Blessed Virgin Mary 
does not wish me to go to hell for you.” 

The heart of the most tender father could not feel greater 
love for his children than Alphonsus did towards our stu¬ 
dents. “ We are their fathers,” said he, speaking to their 
Superiors, “and the Congregation is their mother. Since 
they have left their parents in order to give themselves to 
God, it is right that they should be treated with the great¬ 
est charity.” There were three things which he wished 
them never to forget in the course of their studies: first, he 
did not like them to seek to know any thing but what was 
useful and necessary, and always with suitable moderation; 
in the second place, he objected to any boasting before 
others of more knowledge than was really possessed, much 
more, to setting up for acquirements which one had not; 
and in the third place, he wished for a continual growth 
in virtue, and especially in humility. “True knowledge,” 
he said to them, “consists in knowing Jesus Christ well. 
Of what good will knowledge be to us, if its end is not to 

seek after God?.We must study, it is true, as we 

are laborers; but we ought to be fully persuaded that the 
one thing needful, and that which Jesus Christ requires 
above every thing else, is that we should endeavor to be 



192 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


saved as saints. We must study, but our sole object in 
studying ought to be that of pleasing God, otherwise it will 
only cause us to be a long time in purgatory, nay, even may 
lead some perhaps to the torments of hell, which may God 
forbid. Let your aim then always be the glory of God and 
the good of souls, and when an opportunity occurs for 
seeming ignorant, do not recoil from it, for it will not hurt 
you.” 

He had also an extreme affection for the young novices. 
When the noviciate was in the house where he himself 
lived, he always passed the evening recreation with the 
novices. In order to inspire faithfulness in following the 
vocation, and fear of losing it, he was in the habit of say¬ 
ing: “Vocation and perseverance are two distinct graces; 
God may give us the former even in the midst o£ our infi¬ 
delities, but we shall not have the grace of perseverance, if 
we do not deserve it through prayer and good works. It is 
this crown which the devil wishes to take from us, and 
God allows him to tempt us, to try our constancy and to 
reward us proportionably.” Three things he required in 
the novices, to insure their persevering and triumphing over 
temptations, viz: humility, obedience, and openness of 
heart. “ He who is humble and knows his own misery,” 
said he, “ is all-powerful against the devil, he can never go 
astray, if he blindly trusts to the guidance of his Superiors, 
and above all if he is candid in confiding all that he feels 
to his director. A temptation which is revealed to another 
is vanquished, or half vanquished, for the devil, who is pride 
itself, does not suffer his artifices to be disclosed to a crea¬ 
ture of earth, such as man is.” When he found these dis¬ 
positions in a novice, he felt sure that there was nothing 
to fear. 

With regard to novices who became sick, his maxim was, 
that those who were patient and pious in illness, assisted 
the Congregation by their example, and that as they were 
themselves pleasing to God, they drew down innumerable 
graces upon it also. When a fervent novice was at the 
point of death, Alphonsus was not distressed, for he re- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


193 


joiced in the assurance that such a novice was happy. If 
on the contrary a sick person wished to leave us, he 
only granted it with pain. “ If the doctors and remedies 
we have here,” he said, “cannot restore their health, 
they will not recover it any better in the house of their 
parents. If God wills that they shall die, it is better for 
them to die in the Congregation, than in the midst of 
the world.” 

Let us close this chapter by giving the wise rules Al- 
phonsus prescribed to himself, which directed his conduct, 
and baused him to be an eminent Superior: 

1st. A Superior ought to lead an exemplary life, for if 
he does not practice what he teaches, his government will 
be useless and dangerous. 

2d. The Superior ought constantly to labor for God, and 
to be persuaded that he will often meet with ingratitude 
from man. 

3d. Too severe a Superior makes the subjects imperfect 
and deceitful, because they will act only through servile 
fear. 

4th. Pride makes a Superior odious to all, it hinders his 
own sanctification and that of his subjects, as well as the 
preservation of order in the institute. 

5th. The Superior ought to possess heroic patience, he 
ought to bear all kinds of labor, fatigue, and contradictions, 
and always appear calm, and affable towards all. 

6th. The Superior ought to give every one a reception 
full of charity and affection, and be all to all on all 
occasions. 

7th. The Superior ought to be careful to cherish the 
same degree of love towards all, and to assist all alike in 
their spiritual and temporal wants. 

8th. The Superior who does not overcome his antipa¬ 
thies, sympathies, or impressions caused by ill-temper, is 
hasty in his judgments, and falls into a thousand faults. 

9th. The Superior ought not to be so presumptuous as 
to try to govern the institute by means of his own lights 
only, he always stands in need of prayers and counsels. 

17 


194 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


10th. The Superior ought to provide for the spiritual and 
temporal wants of his subjects, and to relieve them with all 
the care of a father and a brother. 

11th. The Superior ought to be vigilant as to the observ¬ 
ance of the rule, he must therefore inquire into every 
thing with the greatest exactitude. 

12th. The Superior must not judge things hastily, but 
weigh them well, and reflect and inquire into them, before 
giving any decision. 

13th. The Superior ought to punish offences against the 
rule, but he ought first to give repeated warning, which 
should always be accompanied by charity. 

14th. The Superior ought to be firm with the incorri¬ 
gible, and he must take care to prevent the contagion of 
bad example. 

15th. The Superior ought to be just, exemplary, prudent, 
charitable, affable, and vigilant, if he would not undergo a 
terrible judgment at the tribunal of God. 


CHAPTER XVIII. 


Alphonsus is chosen Bishop. His journey to Rome and 
Loretto. His Consecration. 

E are now arrived at that period of the life of our 



YY Saint, in which God, in His wonderful providence, 
placed him on the candlestick, to enlighten all those who 
were in the house of His holy Church, and that he might 
labor for His glory by new works, and in new combats 
The episcopal see of St. Agatha of the Goths, a town 
situated at the foot of Mount Taburno, between Bene- 
vento and Capua in the Abruzzi, built by the Goths on 
the site of the ancient Saticola, mentioned by Titus Livi- 
us, 7th Book of the 1st Decade, chapter 8th, had become 
vacant by the death of Bishop Flaminius Danza. The 
succession to it was solicited by at least sixty candidates, 


LIFE OF ST. ALPFIONSUS. 


195 


amongst whom were bishops, and even archbishops. The 
Pope, Clement XIII, much embarrassed by the number of 
competitors, the claims of one not the most worthy, being, 
besides, singularly favored at Naples by a very high person¬ 
age, consulted the Cardinals, and Cardinal Spinelli gave 
the advice to choose a man whose merits surpassed those 
of all the rest, and proposed Alphonsus, who, from the 
lustre of his origin, science, and sanctity, enjoyed an 
esteem as general as it was merited. This advice was 
followed, as being calculated to put to silence every pre¬ 
tension, and to end every anxiety. The news of the Sov¬ 
ereign Pontiff’s decision being spread through Rome, filled 
all those who knew the future bishop, with joy, and the 
satisfaction was such that many prelates, and particularly 
the Cardinals Orsini and Cartelli, went to thank the Pope. 
Many other distinguished personages, among them, Prince 
Piombino and D. Gaetan Buon-Compagno, who had 
known Alphonsus at Naples, were so rejoiced at this nomi¬ 
nation, that they presented themselves in person to his 
Holiness, and congratulated him on having raised so 
learned and holy a man to the episcopate. 

While this matter was being settled at Rome, the mind 
of Alphonsus was occupied with anything but this church 
and bishopric; one day, when conversing with Bishop 
Nicolas Borgia of Cava, on the mercy of God in rescuing 
him from the world, he said : “ One of the greatest graces 
that I have received from the Lord, is that of having 
escaped the peril of being a bishop, a peril which I should 
have had difficulty in avoiding, had I remained with my 
family.” Thus thought Alphonsus, but God had ordained 
otherwise. A courier arrived at Nocera on the 9th of 
March, 1762, with a letter from Cardinal Socatelli, Nuncio 
at NapleSj inclosing one from Cardinal Negroni, which 
announced to him his election to the bishopric of St. 
Agatha, in the name of the Pope. On reading them, 
Alphonsus was thunderstruck; his senses became troubled, 
and he could not speak. As soon as the community were 
informed of it, they hastened to his room, and found him 


196 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


agitated, silent, and bathed in tears. After recovering 
himself, he became tranquil, persuaded that his refusal 
would immediately end all, and that the election was a 
mere mark of esteem which the Pope wished to give him. 
Alphonsus in consequence wrote a letter to the Cardinal- 
auditor, in which he thanked the Pope for his goodness, 
and exposed his own incapacity, his great age and infirmi¬ 
ties, the vow by which he had engaged himself never to 
accept any dignity, and the scandal which his consent 
would give in the Congregation. When the courier was 
gone, Alphonsus said to F. Corsano: “See, this storm has 
cost me an hour and four ducats,” alluding to the money 
he had had to give to the messenger, he then added, that 
he would not give the Congregation for all the kingdoms 
of the great Turk. He wrote at the same time to Cardinal 
Spinelli, to let him know the motives which had determined 
him to refuse the honor offered to him, and to beg him to 
cause his refusal to be accepted by the Pope. He wrote 
at the same time to his friend, the Abbe Bruni, who had 
much influence with the Cardinal. The next day, Bishop 
Borgia came to see him, and gave him a confidential letter 
from Cardinal Spinelli, who wrote, that his Holiness wished 
that he should immediately accept the bishopric, to take 
him out of his embarrassment, but that he should be at 
liberty to renounce it afterwards, when affairs should be¬ 
come more tranquil. This threw Alphonsus into new con¬ 
sternation, and greater than the first. Persuaded that the 
Pope would make difficulty to accept his resignation, he 
saw that he had no hope left but in God, and he made 
his brethren pray, that the Lord would deign to exempt 
him from this punishment, which he always acknowledged 
to have deserved by his sins. In his sermon on the follow¬ 
ing Saturday, he recommended himself to the prayers of the 
people, he redoubled his penances, he condemned himself 
to a severe fast, he diminished his sleep, and neglected no 
means to appease what he considered so violent a tempest. 

As the time drew near, when the decision was to be 
given at Rome, the disquietude of Alphonsus increased; 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


197 


but in spite of his extreme agitation, he was heard often 
repeating: “ May the will of God be done.’' He remained 
balancing between fear and hope, but fear had the prepon¬ 
derance. “ If the courier comes,” he said several times 
to Fathers Ferrara and Mazzini, “do not let me see him, 
for he would seem to me like an executioner with the axe in 
his hand.” At Rome, many well qualified personages who 
were acquainted with the reasons alleged by Alphonsus, 
hastened to intercede in his favor, especially dwelling on 
his age and' his enfeebled frame. Cardinal Spinelli, in¬ 
formed of the state of Alphonsus, pleaded his cause him¬ 
self, though with regret. On the evening of the 14th of 
March, the Pope seemed disposed to accept the resigna¬ 
tion, but the next morning he decided to the contrary, 
without any one knowing why he did so. On the morn¬ 
ing of the 18th of March, 1762, the messenger of the 
Nuncio appeared again at Naples. Fathers Ferrara and 
Mazzini opened the letters, and when they saw the firm 
resolve of the Pope, they went to Alphonsus, but before 
letting him know the truth, they got him to recite an 
Ave Maria with them. Alphonsus felt his heart beat, 
and said: “ The courier has returned.” They confessed 
it, and told him the Pope commanded him to accept. Upon 
this he raised his eyes to heaven, bent his head in token of 
submission, and said: “ Obmutui, quia tu fecisti;” then 
becoming thoughtful, he added: “It is the will of God, 
God sends me out of the Congregation for my sins.” 
Then turning towards the Fathers, he said: “Do not 
forget me. Ah! must it be that we shall separate, after 
having loved each other during thirty years?” On this he 
was silent, and his eyes became bathed in tears. The 
Fathers observing that he lacked not friends in Rome, who 
would cause the motives of his resignation to prevail, “It 
is not possible,” replied Alphonsus, “to make explana. 
tions. The Pope has declared himself in absolute terms, 
which do not permit it: I must obey.” At these words, 
he fell into such convulsions, that he remained speechless 
for five hours. When he came to himself, he wrote to the 
17* 


198 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


Cardinal-auditor and to the Nuncio, that he was ready to 
accept, and to submit to the will of the Sovereign Pontiff. 
The refusal of Alphonsus had caused a great sensation, all 
Rome was edified, and this edification increased still more, 
when his unreasoning obedience and complete submission 
to the will of the Pope became known. 

When D. Hercules heard that his brother had accepted 
the episcopate, he rejoiced, and hastened to offer such ser¬ 
vices as might be necessary to him under the circum¬ 
stances. Alphonsus replied as follows: “My dear brother, T 
have been so stunned by the command of the Pope, that I 
should accept the bishopric on obedience, that my ideas 

seem to have left me.I thank you for your offer 

of advancing the money.What do you wish I 

should say ? you rejoice; for my part, I can only weep. I 
have lost my sleep and appetite, I am beside myself, a fever 
seized me this morning, and this evening, whilst I write, it is 
not gone. I ask of myself, why my old age is to be afflicted 
by the painful labors of the episcopate, and how it is that the 
Pope, who never gives such commands, has adopted a tone 
of such severity with me ? To conclude, may the will of 
God be done; He'desires the sacrifice of the rest of my 
life, I must submit, whatever I may wish.” 

It being the custom of the bishops of the kingdom, who 
came to Naples, to establish themselves in a house accord¬ 
ing with their high dignity, Alphonsus, having accepted 
the bishopric, wrote thus to his brother: “ As regards the 
house, I do not want to charge myself with the expenses. 
I think that when I come to Naples, one or two rooms on 
the first floor will be enough for me to receive the people 
in, who may wish to speak to me.” To the lay-brother he 
wrote: “ I hope that I shall not return to Naples, but in 
any case four straw chairs will be enough for me. If I 
have accepted the bishopric out of obedience, I must follow 
the example of saintly bishops: do not speak to me, then, 
about a carriage or livery. What good will it do to me to act 
the great lord in Naples?” Bishops Borgia and Volpe, and 
his director F. Villani, having shown him the necessity of 




LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


1S9 


his having a carriage, he consented to it, and wrote to his 
brother: “Yes, I am resolved to buy one, but I wish to see 
beforehand whether the late bishop has not left a carriage 
which might do, because I should have that much cheaper. 
I shall be in Naples this week or next, and then we will 
speak about it, for the short stay I shall make in that town 
I have no need to buy a carriage and mules immediately. I 
will use that of the Cordeliers for the visits I shall have to 
make there.” 

Great as was his submission to the will of the Pope, he 
made so violent an effort, and experienced such internal 
constraint, that the fever which had seized him on the 20th 
of March, became so alarming, that his life appeared in 
danger. “Just are the judgments of God,” he exclaimed, 
“the Lord casts me out of the Congregation for my sins.” 
One thing alone brought him relief, it was the hope of 
being able to re-enter the order. “I believe it is certain,” 
he said, “that after God’s anger is appeased, (and I hope 
that my prayers and zeal in fulfilling, my duties may disarm 
it in a few years,) I am certain that then the Pope will have 
pity on my sorrows, and will willingly choose a more worthy 
person for St. Agatha; then he will send me back here to 
die within these very walls whence I am now going out.” 
The Pope, rejoicing at the obedience of Alphonsus, wished 
to testify to him the satisfaction he felt, and in conse¬ 
quence the Cardinal-auditor wrote to the holy man to this 
effect, signifying at the same time, that his Holiness had 
consented to his deferring his journey to Rome, on account 
of the inclemency of the season. Hearing afterwards of 
his serious malady, the Pope was extremely afflicted, but 
said : “ If he dies, we shall give him our apostolical bene¬ 
diction, but if he lives, we wish to have him in Rome.” 
D. Hercules, hearing at Naples of the dangerous state of 
his brother, hastened to Nocera, bringing one of the most 
skilful physicians of that capital with him. 

The submission of Alphonsus to the will of the Pope had 
caused great joy at St. Agatha. The chapter deputed several 
canons to congratulate him, but their sorrowful surprise on 


: 


ITT I CT ST- 


vsrs. 


fiirnr him ia hrd 2nd in dinger r f Ct'" *15 15 _. lit 
£5 their ardent desire of becoming acquainted with him 
xrhoiu God tsd destined to t*e metr rather. and or 
whose zeal and sandm they hid heard so much. Cn 
their return to St, Agama- this news sprean consternation 
among the inhibitants, and in unisen with the clergy they 
add-essed their prayers to Goc. thu he 'poo 1 : deign to 
restore the health of their future aistcr. Public prayers 
were if so offered to God in all the houses cf me Con- 
ore ration. each fee!ing a deep interest in the life of L ; m 
whom be looted on is his father. 

As his mind resumed its calmness his body also re- 
ri nod its surerg'h bnt that he esm- red from death, wls 
considered a real miracle. VThen his humidity would 
oppose itself to the Pope, he wis heard to say: •• God 
wills mat I should be a bishop, and for my pan I —fi to 
be a bishop.’ He wis in this' disposition of m.nc when 
on me morning of master cay nadirg that he “is almost 
well, he took the sadden resolution of rc nr to his dish t- 

— — A 

rlc. He then without doss of time, entered into one of 
those miserable cirri ares which are called ana set 

out for Ha pies, from whence he had to repair to Etme. 
Ke was accompanied by H. Viddari. Oa the Saturday 
before his departure he did not omit to preach, accordmr 
to custom, in honor of the Holy Virgin Mary, and 
he did it in so pathetic a tone mat he erected ail his 
audience in an extra ordinary degree. Cm leawlnr his 
brethren at Voters, he bergtd aid there present Dot to 
forget him in their prayers, in order mat the Lord Jesus 
Christ and the Blessed Virgin might aid him to bear the 
load which had been placed upon him. After mat. he 
added: Do not grieve my dear brethren because I am 
zoirg away : I promise that I will return here art in to end 
my cay:.‘ On passing by the Tower cf the Arrnrziata 
he stopped for a few moments, in consequence of a pressing 
.nr] cation. at the bouse of the Garganos a family of which all 
the members were greatly deToted to him : I goto Rome, 
he sate to them but I am sure that my representation? 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


201 


which have been powerless at a distance, will be more 
favorably heard when I am on the spot; the holy Father 
will let me go and die among my brethren, when he finds 
in me only a miserable carcass.” He found fresh subjects 
of distress on his arrival at Naples. Being obliged to pay 
his respects to the ministers and magistrates, and finding 
himself beset at home by the crowd who came to compli¬ 
ment him, he required all his virtue to bear this new mode 
of life. “Recommend me, and let me be recommended 
by others very particularly, to Jesus Christ,” he wrote to F. 
Mazzini on the 14th of April, “ if I do not lose my senses 
now, I shall never lose them. Unhappy that I am, I left 
the world in my youth, and now in my old age I have to 
begin again to hold intercourse with it.” 

Very touching was the meeting of Alphonsus with F. 
Janvier Fatigati. Some years before, Alphonsus, when at 
Naples, having heard that this, his friend, was going to be 
elected bishop, went to see him one morning, and met him 
on the threshold of the door. “ F. Janvier,” he said to 
him with ardor, “do not accept the episcopate, if you do, 
you will be damned.” Alphonsus in his turn received, at 
the time we are speaking of, the visit of his friend, who, 
more fortunate than himself, had been able to decline the 
burden. When they met, they were mutually silent, their 
eyes were bathed in tears, and the features of Alphonsus 
showed the bitterness which rent his heart, while those of 
F. Fatigati depicted the compassion he felt for his friend. 

The expenditure of Alphonsus, when at Naples, for his 
equipment, was really extraordinary. His episcopal ring 
cost only a few carlins, it was adorned with a simple bit of 
glass; the brilliants in his pastoral cross were also made of 
false stones. When the jeweller gave it to him, Alphonsus 
said, “Oh what a heavy cross you bring me!” “What! 
heavy!” replied the workman with astonishment. “Yes, 
heavy,” answered Alphonsus, bending his head twice, “ alas! 
it is so weighty that I know nothing more overwhelming.” 

On Monday, the 19th of April, after Easter week, Alphon¬ 
sus, accompanied by F. Villani, set out* for Rome. He 


202 


I,IFF OF ST. ALPHONSUS, 


went to Cisterna to see Cardinal Spinelli. His Eminence 
could not help smiling on seeing him; but Alphonsus 
said at once: “My lord, you have not acted fairly towards 
me.” The Cardinal related what had passed at Rome 
concerning him, and urged him to undertake the burden 
of the episcopate courageously, saying: “My lord, be 
sure of the assistance of God, for your divine vocation is 
most certain.” The first thing which our saint did on 
arriving at Rome, was to visit the tomb of St. Peter. He 
remained before the altar in a sort of ecstasy for more 
than an hour, and he stayed for a long time on his knees 
before the image of the holy Apostle which is in the 
Vatican besides. They were so prepossessed in his favor 
at Rome, that he was welcomed every where with especial 
marks of esteem. The Fathers of the Congregation of the 
Pious Workers wished to have him in their house, and the 
Duke of Sora, Prince of Piombino, D. Gaetan Buon-Cotn- 
pagno, being at Frescati, and hearing of his arrival, begged 
him to lodge in his palace, and offered him the use of his 
carriage. Alphonsus declined the dwelling-place, but 
accepted the carriage, which his weakness and great age 
rendered indispensable to him. When the Abbe Bruni 
came to see him, Alphonsus, who knew that he had taken 
part with Cardinal Spinelli in his nomination, could not 
help gently reproaching him by representing his incapacity. 
“I have no quality which fits me in the least degree for a 
bishop,” he said, “but I submit because the Pope com¬ 
mands, and God wills that I should obey him.” “ The 
Pope wills that I should be a bishop,” he said to the Abbe 
Troppi, a professor in Rome, “but I have come to let him 
see that I am but a machine out of order.” 

His humility made him quick in finding pretexts for ex¬ 
cusing himself courteously from the most of the invitations 
he received. The Fathers of the Mission of St. Vincent 
of Paul invited him to dinner one day: “ My Fathers,” he 
said to them, “ please give my dinner to Jesus Christ’s poor 
for me, in order that He may let me see His holy will dis¬ 
tinctly while I am at Rome.” Cardinal Orsini invited him 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


203 


to his table. Alphonsus wished to excuse himself again, 
but it w’as in vain; he was told that the Cardinal had in¬ 
vited other great personages to meet him. When he was 
preparing to go to the Cardinal’s, he was told that he 
ought not to present himself there in such a dress, (Al¬ 
phonsus, even in Rome, gloried in wearing the habit of his 
order,) but should put on a court-dress. He did not attend 
to this advice, and when he met the Cardinal, he said to 
him: “My Lord, 1 am come as I was.” The Cardinal 
smiled. “I know,” added Alphonsus, “that you are 
ashamed of me.” “Well my wish is, that you should 
shame me,” answered the Cardinal; then he embraced him 
heartily, and led him in his cabinet. 

Alphonsus had suffered a great deal at Naples from the 
numerous visits and compliments, but it was worse at 
Rome. “ The time which must pass before I can leave 
Rome, seems like a thousand years,” he wrote to his brother 
Hercules, “how I long to be free from all their ceremo¬ 
nial!” On his arrival, he heard that the Pope was at Civita 
Yecchia, and would not return immediately. He resolved 
therefore to go in the meanwhile to visit the holy house at 
Loretto. F. Villani tried to dissuade him from it, to save 
him from this additional fatigue. “My good mother Mary 
will strengthen me,” he answered; “when will so favora¬ 
ble an opportunity offer itself again ? Nothing will hurt 
me, if I can have the satisfaction of visiting the house 
where the Eternal Word became man for me.” This jour¬ 
ney, like that from Naples to Rome, was to him a con¬ 
tinual union with God. He commenced before day-break 
by a long meditation and other prayers; then he said the 
canonical hours, paid a visit to the Blessed Sacrament and 
to the Blessed Virgin; he then said the Rosary and Lita¬ 
nies, and wished his servants also to recite the Rosary with 
uncovered heads. He said many prayers for the souls in 
purgatory, and passed the most of the time till twelve, in 
singing pious hymns, and in holy converse with F. Villani. 
He celebrated Mass every day, and when the hour ap¬ 
proached, made his preparation, with a long thanksgiving 


204 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHOttSUS. 


after it. While he continued his route, he said Vespers 
and Compline; he then made a long meditation, together 
with a visit to Jesus and Mary, and recited the Rosary 
again. On arriving at the inn, he said Matins and Lauds 
for the following day. His attendants were humility and 
poverty. He fasted in the morning, and took his evening 
meal in a strange manner, for he went to the same table as 
the drivers, as if he had been the poorest of the travellers. 

He experienced ineffable consolation, the three weeks 
he passed at Loretto. He observed, or rather meditated on, 
the smallest local circumstance. “ It is here,” he ex¬ 
claimed in unceasing rapture, “it is here that the Word 
became man. It is here that Mary held Him in her arms!” 
One day he told F. Villani to retire, wishing to contemplate 
at his leisure the mysteries which this cradle of the divine hu¬ 
manity recalled to his mind. During all the nights he passed 
at Loretto, he never went to bed ; he remained constantly on 
his knees, sometimes without any support, sometimes with 
that of his bed. These details were given by his servant, who 
watched him through the crevices of his door. The same 
servant related also, that for his supper he took only an in¬ 
fusion of sage, ate very little at dinner, and when he was 
urged to take some dishes which the inn-keeper brought 
for him, he always declined it adroitly. He never left the 
house to go to see the town, only going out to celebrate 
Mass in the morning, and to pay a visit in the evening to 
the Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed Virgin. The pil¬ 
grims came to the saintly man in crowds, and he neglected 
nothing in order to relieve their misery. One of them 
coming before him half-naked, he opened his trunk and 
gave him his best shirt, and a tolerably large alms besides. 
When he was obliged to leave Loretto, one may say he 
left his heart behind him on that holy spot. On his return, 
he did not cease to speak of the great mystery, the very 
scene of the accomplishment of which, he had been visiting. 

A heavy rain fell the night after his departure, which 
swelled the stream of the river Tarni. The next morning, 
in leaving Marino in a boat, ail awkward evolution nearly 


LIFE OF ST. ALPlfoNSUS. 


205 


upset the barge; Alphonsus fell into the water, and disap¬ 
peared in the middle of the river; but the servant threw 
himself into the stream, and miraculously succeeded in 
bearing him out on his shoulders to the other side. When 
they arrived at Spoletto, Mgr. Acqua, bishop of that city, 
being informed of the passage of his saintly colleague, 
sent his carriage to the hotel for him, being himself con- 
fined to bed by gout, and under great uneasiness as to the 
state of his diocese. He opened his heart to him whose 
works he admired so much, and told him all his trials. 
Alphonsus consoled the holy bishop, who passed the greater 
part of the night with him, blessing God for having been 
able to converse with a man so full of the Spirit of God. 

Alphonsus returned to Rome on the evening of May 8th, 
1762; and the Pope arrived almost at the same time from 
Civita-Vecchia. He went to do homage to him immedi¬ 
ately; as he bent to his feet, the Pope hastened to raise 
him, and embracing him, made him sit beside him; but 
Alphonsus threw himself anew at his feet, and supplicated 
with tears to be exempted from a charge which his infirmities, 
his age, and above all, his incapacity, rendered him unfit 
for. “Obedience,” answered the Pope, “enables one to 
work miracles; trust therefore in God, and he will assist 
you.” He then made him sit down, and questioned him 
as to tire state of Naples, both in its political and spiritual 
relations; he kept him for an hour and a half, as he took 
very great pleasure in talking with him. 

When going to visit Cardinal Torregiani, secretary of 
state, he wished, before making himself known, to wait till 
all who had asked an audience were satisfied ; so he staid 
humbly in the ante-chamber. But Bishop Molinari, who 
knew him, happening to enter the ante-room, informed the 
Cardinal’s servant who he was. He had been taken for a 
mendicant; the Cardinal was immediately informed, and 
received him with distinction above every one else. The 
Pope wished often to see him, and conferred with him on. 
many affairs of much importance to the Church. He con¬ 
ceived the highest opinion of his virtues and science from 
18 


206 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS, 


these interviews. He never spoke of him without admira¬ 
tion, so much so that a rumor went about that Alphonsus 
would be made a Cardinal. Alphonsus himself seemed to 
confirm these reports, by the terms in which he wrote to 
his brother Hercules of what had passed between himself 
and the Sovereign Pontiff. 

In one of these visits to the Holy Father the conversa¬ 
tion fell upon frequent communion ; Alphonsus told him 
that he had been opposed at Naples on this subject by 
some men more rigorous than devout, who, by exaggerating 
the dispositions which this sacrament requires, discouraged 
the faithful and kept them at a distance from it. He dis¬ 
approved of the silence of Alphonsus, and charged him to 
refute his adversaries. Alphonsus consented, and during 
his stay in Rome composed and published a treatise on this 
subject, which the Pope received with great satisfaction. 

He went to visit the examiners, and when he was asked 
on what treatises he wished to be examined, he wanted 
to leave it to their own choice; but as they insisted to 
the contrary, he named those de Mutuo and de Legibus; 
but one of them, who knew how much he dreaded the 
episcopate, wished to propose a question which would 
please him; it was this: “Is it lawful to wish for the epis¬ 
copate?” On the eve of the examination, the thought of 
the burden which threatened him brought on a sick head¬ 
ache, which took away all his rest; he would not eat, and 
indeed was incapable of taking anything; however, he took 
a little in obedience to F. Villani, and the next day, in 
spite of the discomfort he felt, he presented himself for the 
examination. One of the examiners, having proposed the 
question, begged him to raise his voice a little, but Cardi¬ 
nal Gallo, turning to the Pope, said : “ Holy Father, he does 
not hear, because he does not wish to hear.” The Pope 
smiled, so did the examiners and persons present. At the 
end of the meeting, one of the Cardinals suggested to him 
that he should return thanks to the Pope; but either he 
did not understand it, or feigned not to understand it, as 
the Cardinal repeated it a second time. “Most Holy 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


207 


Father,” said he then, “since you have deigned to make 
me a bishop, pray God that I lose not my soul.” 

On St. Basil’s day, the 14th of June, Alphonsus was 
consecrated bishop, in the church of Minerva, by Cardinal 
Rossi, assisted by two bishops. It was -an overwhelming 
day for our saint. He confessed to his director afterwards 
that he had had two great battles in his life: the first, when 
he left the world, and had to struggle against the tender- 
ness of a father who clasped him tightly in his arms; the 
second, when he was forced to be ordained bishop when at 
Rome. “ For then,” said he, “ I was cast down by fear in 
thinking of the burden I was loaded with, and the account 
I should have to give of it to God.” After the consecra¬ 
tion, some one said to him that if he wished to enjoy the 
privilege of wearing a cap at the altar, he must obtain a 
brief: “ Oh !” he exclaimed, “ what a thing it would be if I 
should spend money in order to contract a wicked debt 
towards Jesus Christ!” 

Our Fathers, seeing what great harm might happen to 
the Congregation by his loss, had united to entreat the 
Pope to grant them that Alphonsus might continue to be 
superior and rector-major of the institute, and that a vicar- 
general should govern it in his name. This request was 
supported by F. Villani, to whom the Holy Father immedi¬ 
ately replied with kindness: “I wish that this Congrega¬ 
tion should go on and be well supplied with subjects, and 
I do not intend that it should suffer any harm from the 
elevation of its founder, for the great good it has effected 
in the Church and in the kingdom of Naples, is a great 
consolation to me.” Thus his Holiness condescended to 
grant all their wishes, which helped in no small degree to 
alleviate the sorrow of Alphonsus, who had believed him¬ 
self cast out of the Congregation in punishment for his sins. 

The Holy Father desired the new bishop to come to his 
f private audience six or seven times; at his last visit, in 
bidding him farewell, he loaded him with kindness, and 
seemed unable to separate from him ; he recommended the 
Church and himself to his prayers. He gave him his bulls 


208 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


gratuitously, and Cardinal Antonelli, secretary of the con¬ 
sistory, defrayed the other expenses. 

During all the time he staid in Rome, Alphonsus led the 
most edifying life; he never went out but from npcessity> 
or to visit the sacred places. After his consecration he 
revisited the tomb of the apostle St. Peter, and placed him¬ 
self and those committed to his care under his protection. 
Cardinal Orsini invited him a second time, but Alphonsus 
declined the honor, excusing himself on the plea of his 
infirmities. He mortified himself at Rome as elsewhere. 
The great heat caused him to suffer much from his head ; 
he was asked one day to take an ice which was offered to 
him, but he refused to accept it, and contented himself with 
a glass of lemonade, which is called fresh water in Rome. 
He was always dressed as a missionary, and wore the Ro¬ 
sary at his girdle, and a broad-brimmed hat. A person of 
high rank could not help telling him : “In not leaving off 
the habit of your order, you have given a most edifying 
example to Rome.” The Pope himself did not cease to 
praise his virtues, and said to several Cardinals: “On the 
death of Bishop Liguori we' shall have to honor another 
saint in the Church.” 


CHAPTER XIX. 

Alphonsus leaves Rome and goes to his diocese. His manner 
of life as a bishop. He gives the Spiritual Exercises to 
the Clergy , and a Mission in his Cathedral. Some exam¬ 
ples of his severity against hardened sinners. 

O N the 21st of June, after celebrating mass at the altar 
of St. Louis Gonzaga in the church of the Gesu, Al¬ 
phonsus left Rome. In this journey, as in the preceding 
ones, poverty was his inseparable companion; though a 
bishop, he sat at table with the drivers, without suffering 
any distinction to be made. He arrived at Naples on the 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


209 


morning of the 25th. He visited among others the four 
ministers, and commended himself most particularly to the 
Marquis of Marco. “I go into a diocese a lit/tie in disor¬ 
der,” he said to him, “and each one will wish to justify 9 
his conduct. I pray God that they may all really be able 
to do so; but I entreat you to regard the honor of God 
and the welfare of souls.” “Do not be distressed,” the 
Marquis answered, “and if you require the King’s support, 
be assured you will obtain it.” He was invited to the 
royal table, and went there; but while he was in the ante¬ 
chamber he was not recognised by the two young cheva¬ 
liers in attendance. The Canon D. Fabricius Martini made 
it known that he was Bishop Liguori, and Alphonsus be¬ 
came immediately an object of great attention and venera¬ 
tion. Confused by this, he gently complained to Mgr. 
Martini for having made him known. In the drives through 
the town, he always told the coachman not to attempt pre¬ 
cedence, but to give way on all occasions. At the gate of 
the Santo Spiritu, he met a prince’s carriage, which seemed 
disposed to go first. His coachman wished to dispute this 
advantage, but when Alphonsus perceived it, he ordered 
him to leave the passage to the prince, and reprimanded 
the man on his return, enjoining him to give place for the 
future, even to a groom. The religious of the principal 
convents, and others, asked him to visit them and to 
say mass in their churches, but not wishing to prolong his 
stay in Naples uselessly, he gratified only a few, among 
them his cousin Francis Cavaliere, who, with the concur¬ 
rence of the Cardinal, wished him to give the Sacrament 
of Confirmation to one of his daughters in the chapel of 
his palace. 

Before he left Naples, a priest of Arienzo went to visit 
him. He thought it meritorious to present himself before 
his bishop with a worldly affectation of dress; he was per¬ 
fumed and curled, and wore buckles which covered all his 
shoes. Alphonsus felt pity on seeing such vanity of mind, 
and said to him with touching goodness: “My son, these 
are not the buckles of a priest, and this head-dress does 
18* 


210 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


not suit you at all; if you act thus, you who should be an 
example to the people, what then will men of the world 
do?” The poor priest was quite confused, and changed 
his conduct. 

Alphonsus left Naples on the 3d of July. He visited 
Cardinal Sersale at the Tower of the Annunziata. He re¬ 
ceived him with the tenderest proofs of friendship, and said 
smiling: “You are, then, caught.” “Obedience so willed 
.it,” answered Alphonsus. The Cardinal accompanied him 
to the stairs, and on seeing his equipage, said jestingly: 
“But so, you have taken the livery of a Cardinal.” “It 
was not I who ordered it,” replied Alphonsus, “ it was the 
work of D. Hercules.” Alphonsus had wished it to be of 
a dingy ash color, but to his great regret, Hercules had 
made it of crimson on blue ground. Casting his eyes after 
that on his shoe buckles, the Cardinal said laughingly: 
“You must have bought these at Rome, and no doubt they 
cost you a great deal!” They were little iron buckles, 
which had cost a carlin. 

He arrived at Nocera on a Saturday, and preached there 
according to custom, in honor of the Most Blessed Virgin 
Mary. On seeing the saintly bishop, the whole audience 
melted into tears. The Fathers, because of the visits which 
would be paid to him, did not put him in his ordinary cell, 
but gave him two in another part of the house, that he 
might sleep in the one, and receive visitors in the other. 
One evening passing before his old cell, he exclaimed: “0 
my cell, formerly thy sight consoled me, now it afflicts me.” 
He was so overcome by regret that he could not banish 
tears from his eyes. 

On the morning of the^8th of the same month, after a 
tender farewell to his dear monastery of Nocera, he took 
leave of the missionaries and set out for Naples, accompa¬ 
nied by F. Francis Margotta. “ My brethren,” he said, 
when going away, “do not forget me. I go into exile, far 
from my dear Congregation.” He could say no more, for 
his emotion was extreme. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


211 


As it was during the burning heats of summer, and at 
that period when the weather frequently changes, the doc¬ 
tors of Nocera had given him the advice to defer the jour¬ 
ney, but considering it the part of a good shepherd to give 
his life for his sheep, he braved the inconstancy of the 
season, and set out immediately to go and unite himself 
with his church. “A bishop,” he said, “ought not to 
think of his own life, but should sacrifice himself for the 
souls which are entrusted to him.” He was also strongly 
advised to stop at Arienzo, a town of his new diocese, on 
account of the comfortable house and more salubrious air 
he would have found there, but he wished to go to St. 
Agatha, as the place where God had fixed his abode. 

No triumph in the memory of man had ever been seen 
equal to that of Alphonsus when he entered the diocese of 
St. Agatha. He wept, being affected at the sight of the 
crowd of people who filled the road and had hastened from 
all parts to receive his first benediction. On arriving 
at the gate of Real-Vale, he was saluted by a discharge 
of mortars and brilliant fire-works. When passing be¬ 
fore the parish church, he perceived an immense crowd, 
who had hastened from the country, desirous of having his 
episcopal blessing; affected by this pious eagerness, he 
got out of the carriage and entered the church, where after 
a short act of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, he com¬ 
forted all the faithful by a simple and pathetic discourse. 
In passing by Bagnoli, a fief of the see of St. Agatha, he 
was again saluted by roars of cannon and by a thousand 
acclamations from a joyous people. 

On his arrival at St. Agatha, he received, on descending 
from the carriage into the court of the episcopal palace, 
the congratulations and homage of both the secular and 
regular clergy, and of a number of distinguished inhabitants 
of the town and diocese. After a moment’s repose, when 
they were making ready to conduct him to the church in 
procession, the canons discovered that he had no cap or 
green hat. Not being able to do better, they took that 
which was placed on the tomb of the deceased Bishop 


21*2 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


Danza. After the Blessed Sacrament had been exposed, 
Alphonsus prostrated himself for a long time with his face 
on the ground, which he deluged with his tears. The 
cathedral was so crowded, that spacious as it was, a good 
many people were obliged to stay at the door. When they 
had chanted the Te Deum. the bishop descended from his 
throne, and placing himself on the right side of the altar, 
he comforted all present by a discourse in which his love 
and zeal were equally shown forth. All who assisted there 
shed tears of joy, and thanked God for having given them 
an angel for their pastor, and when they left the church 
were heard to repeat: “ We have a saintly bishop, we have 
a saint among us.” Such was the impression the first sight 
of his poverty and humility, and the words of his burning 
zeal, made on the mind of the people. 

During this first sermon, Alphonsus had been suddenly 
attacked by an obstinate fit of coughing; one of the canons 
turned to the others, and said in joke: “Make ready, gen¬ 
tlemen, to elect a new vicar-capitular, for if my lord has 
another such attack, we shall infallibly lose him.” Al¬ 
phonsus, to whom this remark was reported, together with 
the canon’s name, said jestingly in his turn: “He does not 
know that green pears fall more easily than ripe ones.” A 
short time afterwards, this priest, though in the prime of his 
life, was carried off by death, the first of all the chapter. 
The same evening, Alphonsus had occasion to give proofs 
of his great disinterestedness; several of the most dis¬ 
tinguished people sent him a quantity of provisions of great 
price, for his table; but he sent them all back, giving 
money to the servants who had brought him these presents, 
and expressing his gratitude for so much kindness. Some 
days after, the Provincial of the Dominicans sent him a 
great quantity of choice dishes, but he refused all, and 
caused him to be told that he never accepted of such pre¬ 
sents. The Fathers Conventual also wished to show him 
their friendly inclinations, by sending him a basket of little 
cheeses, with a quantity of sweetmeats, and small wax 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


213 


tapers. Alphonsus took one of the cheeses and sent back 
all the rest. Others were not more fortunate. 

The holy prelate’s secretary, Don Verzella, seeing they 
had several distinguished guests, D. Hercules and others, 
thought he ought to provide a suitable supper. Alphonsus 
was dissatisfied, and sent for him and said: “Felix, may 
God forgive you, what have you done ? I am not come 
here to give sumptuous repasts; I do not wish to treat you 
harshly, but I cannot understand any excess. When there 
are so many poor who die of hunger, it does not befit us 
to make good cheer.” Not satisfied with this reprimand, 
he sent for him again, and fixed the fare for each day; he 
desired that for his dinner, soup and boiled meat should 
be prepared; an extra dish was only to be had for those of 
his household, or for guests. 

Though raised to the episcopate, he did not change his 
manner of life; he even followed a severer rule. Before 
his departure from Nocera, he had sent a lay-brother to ar¬ 
range the palace of St. Agatha, and charged him to carry 
his empty palliasse there, as he did not wish to have any 
other bed. Not finding this, he complained to the brother, 
who excused himself by saying that the canons had pre¬ 
vented it, and that they had not been able to procure suit¬ 
able straw. “ Let it be procured,” said Alphonsus, “and 
let it be bought at any price.” He had the mattrass re¬ 
moved, and spread the empty palliasse on the boards of the 
bed, where he passed the night, and the next day was not 
at rest till he had seen his palliasse arranged according to 
custom for the following night. He went all over the 
palace, and chose the most inconvenient and the plainest 
room for himself, giving the best to his Grand-Vicar, to his 
secretary, and to F. Angelus Majone, who was to remain 
with him; he did not go to bed the first evening till he had 
disciplined himself severely for a long time. He also visited 
the garden. He found it destitute of trees and vegetables; 
he sent for the brother, and ordered him to plant a number 
of kitchen plants, as if it were the month of February. 
The brother smiled at this order, and represented to him 


214 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


that it was not the proper season. “ Do as I tell you,” re¬ 
plied Alphonsus. The brother obeyed, and every one 
laughed at it, but they were much surprised when, a little 
afterwards, they saw that all without exception throve won¬ 
derfully. 

From the time of his arrival at St. Agatha, he made a rule 
of daily conduct, which he continued to follow throughout 
the thirteen years during which he sanctified his Church. 
As soon as he arose, he gave himself the discipline to blood 
each morning. After that, he made half an hour of medi¬ 
tation with his whole household, the Vicar-General alone 
being free not to assist. The canonical hours followed, 
and after a suitable preparation, he celebrated Mass; he 
then heard on his knees that which his secretary or another 
priest said immediately after. Having thus done his duty 
towards God, he gave audience to those who had to speak 
with him, and occupied himself in satisfying the messen¬ 
gers who came from divers parts of the diocese; to spare to 
all the tedium of the ante-chamber, he told his servant to 
usher in immediately every person, however poor. The 
cures and vicars, as well as confessors, had no need of 
being announced, he wished them to enter at all times with 
perfect confidence. “These are my privileged ones,” he 
said, “they ought not to suffer any restraint.” When no 
one asked an audience, he began to compose or to dictate 
immediately after mass, which he never did when he had 
to attend to the people of his diocese. As soon as there 
was any one to hear, he directly left his study and did not 
return till he had satisfied the visitors. 

The furniture of his room consisted of little more than a 
writing table; it was there he placed himself in the morn¬ 
ing, with a crucifix and a figure of our Lady of Good Counsel 
before him, continually engaged in prayer, in work, and in 
giving audiences and attending to the affairs of his diocese. 
As his dislike to useless visits was known, no one went to 
him but for things worthy of notice, and if, after having 
satisfied them, they did not retire, he said : “ Now then, do 
not let us lose time,” or, “Recommend me to Jesus and 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


215 


Mary.” If he had to do with people he could not with 
propriety dismiss, the constraint he suffered interiorly, on 
account of the loss of time, of which he w as only avari¬ 
cious for the glory of God and the good of his neighbor, 
became visible. Every one had free access to him except 
females; if any one of these asked to speak to him, he 
desired to be informed first, and generally conversed with 
them out of his room, and always with a witness. A lady 
of rank and of a great age wished to speak to him alone: 
“There is no objection to this brother being present,” Al- 
phonsus said to her; (it was brother Anthony,) “he is pru¬ 
dent, depend upon it.” Another day, he was seen to give 
audience in a drawing-room to an old lady who was quite 
decrepit; he made her sit on a long bench, of which he 
occupied the opposite extremity, and conversed with her, 
with his back half turned tow'ardsher. When he went to 
church, he wrapped his right hand in his handkerchief and 
held the left in the opening of his cassock; if a woman 
presented herself to kiss his hand, he said: “Kiss the 
habit, that will suffice.” 

The habit which our saint had adopted of assisting at all 
theofiices, was not discontinued when he was a bishop ; he 
liked to preside over all that was done in his cathedral, at 
the high masses, vespers and canonical hours,—no indis¬ 
position stopped him; he was known to officiate pontifi- 
cally when seized by fever; one day that he had applied a 
painful remedy to his legs, he officiated notwithstanding, 
and suffered so much that he was seen to tremble on his 
throne. 

During his meals, he took care to give food to the soul 
also; each one read in turn. It was generally from the 
life of St. Charles Borromeo. The time which he passed 
at table and in recreation did not exceed an hour and a 
quarter. When the fruit was brought, he conversed with 
his grand-vicar on the affairs of the diocese, or on some 
point of devotion, or received those who had not been able 
to speak to him in the morning, especially if they were 
poor, or messengers. After dinner he took some rest, 


21b' 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


which is so necessary in Italy; he was satisfied with twenty 
minutes, or at most half an hour, and before it he never 
failed to say the Five Psalms in honor of the name of Mary, 
a devotion which he had practised from his youth; but 
often he studied instead of taking this rest. As the exam¬ 
ple of the saints, as he used to say, encourages us and 
excites us to do good, he never omitted to employ half an 
hour each day in reading the lives of the saints, and above 
all those of holy bishops who had been distinguished by 
their zeal and contempt of themselves. This was followed 
by half an hour’s meditation, vespers and compline. The 
rest of the day he gave to business or study. On feast 
days, and especially in Lent, after vespers, he instructed the 
children himself, and taught them the catechism. He 
knew how to attract them by giving them pictures and 
rosaries; with these little ones, older persons attended in 
crowds. For visiting the poor, the sick, and those whose con¬ 
sciences were neglected, he went at about five o’clock in 
the evening; he took care not to forget ecclesiastics who 
might be ill, making it an indispensable duty to go and 
comfort them in their infirmities. At half past five, the bell 
rapg for the visit to the Blessed Sacrament, and he himself 
spoke to the people for half an hour, to inspire them with 
sentiments of faith and love towards Jesus Christ in this 
divine mystery. Though the sacristan placed a prie-dieu 
with a cushion for him, he knelt on the pavement near the 
altar. It was during this devotion that, wishing to banish 
profane and improper songs, he introduced hymns full of 
unction and piety, he gave the tone himself, and repeated 
the verses in union with the people. A doctor, observing 
to him that this weakened his chest, he replied: “I must 
make the people like these hymns, to disgust them with 
dangerous songs.” 

When he had returned home, he gave audience and dis¬ 
tributed his alms; then, said matins and lauds, which were 
followed by half an hour’s meditation with the lay-brother, 
and after this, if it were in winter, he worked till nine or 
ten o’clock, but in summer he immediately assembled all 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


217 


his household, without even excepting the Grand-Vicar, to 
say the rosary together, the litanies of the Blessed Virgin t 
and some other prayers. Then came the examen of con¬ 
science, followed by acts of faith, hope and charity. All 
those who happened to be in his house, servants, strangers, 
and even prelates, had to assist at these prayers; noticing 
one evening that a bishop who was then in the palace did 
not assist, he immediately sent to call him; even princes 
and great lords who visited him were not dispensed from 
it; and this same severity he practised, wherever he was. 
When these prayers were ended, supper came, after which 
he conversed for a few minutes with his Grand-Vicar and 
other members of the house, on subjects which might con¬ 
cern the diocese; after this every one retired, and Al- 
phonsus resumed his scientific occupations, or was em¬ 
ployed in prayer. He did not suffer from this, as he ate so 
little as to be able to recommence prayer or study immedi¬ 
ately. For a long time he took no supper, and only 
drank a glass of water before going to bed. F. Fabius 
Buonapane declared, that he regularly employed sixteen 
hours each day in work and prayer. 

Besides the Vicar and Br. Anthony, Alphonsus had a priest 
with him who filled the offices of secretary, steward, and 
almoner, one servant, and a watchman, who acted at the 
same time as groom and cook. His servants were obliged 
each day to assist at the mass of the Bishop and the Grand- 
Vicar, and to approach the sacraments at least every fort¬ 
night, and on the principal feasts of our Blessed Lord and 
the Holy Virgin. They were obliged to communicate at 
the bishop’s mass. Every sort of game was forbidden to them, 
above all, games at cards, where interest might be concerned, 
Public houses were prohibited to them still more strictly; in 
a word, he wished the members of his household to edify 
every one by irreproachable conduct. Though indulgent for 
every other fault, yet, if holy purity were in question, who¬ 
ever the culpable one might be, he was dismissed on the spot. 
He thought he perceived that the cook had some attachment 
for a woman; not content with sending him away, he wished 
19 


218 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


that he should live in another place; and, as he paid no 
tattention to his wishes, with the consent of the civil au¬ 
thorities, he charged the constables to arrest him. He also 
dismissed another, who went out during the night. He 
made a rule never to receive any servant who was not mar¬ 
ried, and who had not his wife at St. Agatha. Thus Al- 
phonsus, from the time of his entrance into the diocese, 
exerted himself to fulfil every duty which is included 
in the maxim of the Apostle, “ He who knows not how to 
govern his own house, is not fit to rule the Church of God.” 

Alphonsus found the diocese in a most lamentable con¬ 
dition on his arrival, but on this very account it was a fit field 
for his apostolic zeal. On the Sunday which followed his 
entry into St. Agatha, he began to give spiritual exercises 
to all the clergy, in a retired part of the church, and on 
the same evening he opened a mission for the people; he 
preached the principal sermon himself, and committed the 
catechising to F. Margotta,and requested several able canons 
to go through the town before the sermon, to give lively 
exhortations to the people. Floods of tears were shed in 
the church, and all owned that in the memory of man, St. 
Agatha had never had an example of such entire devotion 
and fervor. Grace triumphed over the most hardened sin¬ 
ners. To give complete liberty to consciences, and prevent 
sacrileges, all the priests of the town were forbidden to 
hear confessions, and in their stead were summoned the 
best curates of the diocese. The good done by the mission 
was incalculable; there were reconciliations and wonderful 
acts of restitution made; sinners who had been sunk 
in disorder for years, embraced a new and exemplary course 
of life, and the spirit of penance infused into their hearts 
was such, that in the case of two individuals, who died 
shortly after, their death was wholly owing to their fervor in 
the exercises of penance. A young gentleman, well 
known as an usurer at St. Agatha, was so struck with ter¬ 
ror, when he heard Alphonsus, with black stole, and torch in 
hand, pronouncing the malediction against usurers, blas¬ 
phemers, and above all, against impenitent sinners, that 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


219 


lie was seized with fever and carried off in a few days. On 
the following Sunday, the general communion, for which, 
Alphonsus had obtained a brief from the Pope granting a 
plenary indulgence, was so touching, that all those present 
burst into tears, rich as well as poor, clergy as well as 
laity. In short, the town of St. Agatha was sanctified; 
communions became frequent, the Most Blessed Sacrament 
and the Holy Virgin Mary became the objects of great de¬ 
votion, and every evening the church was seen filled with 
fervent worshippers. 

So much labor in an old man already burthened with in¬ 
firmities, filled every one with admiration. “We prayed 
God,” exclaimed a Dean, “to send us a good bishop, and 
God has heard us favorably, but my lord will exhaust and 
kill himself.” “ What are you thinking of,” said the trea¬ 
surer to the Grand-Vicar, “ do you not see that his lordship 
is shortening his days? have you forgotten the tears we 
shed, and how much it cost us to have him ? Curb his zeal 
therefore ; its excess will be fatal to him.” And he advised 
him to speak to his confessor, to enjoin him to put bounds 
to his immoderate zeal. In this mission, Alphonsus had an 
opportunity of giving proof of his admirable patience and 
humility. He had only two teeth, and God permitted, to 
augment the merits of his servant, that he should feel such 
sharp pain, in the middle of the mission, that it was impossible 
for him to take any rest. To the proposition of sending 
for a celebrated dentist from Naples, he replied: “Are not 
the dentists in this place as worthy as in Naples? Have 
we not the barber? let him come, and let us be patient, 
God wills that I should employ the people of my diocese.” 
They had to wait for the next morning, for the intempe¬ 
rate habits of the barber incapacitated him for work for 
the remainder of the day. When he arrived, Alphonsus 
seated himself on the ground, on a cushion, and his secre¬ 
tary advancing to hold him, he took his crucifix from his 
neck, saying: “ What better support can I have than Him 
who suffered such pain for me ?” Then he crossed his 
arms and pressed the crucifix to his breast, and bore the 


220 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


extraction without the smallest exclamation. Notwith¬ 
standing his state of suffering, he did not omit to preach 
in the morning to the clergy, and in the evening, to the 
people. There remained one tooth, which, far from being 
useful to him, only served to incommode him ; when the 
mission was terminated, he had that also extracted by a 
most painful operation. The barber was obliged to recom¬ 
mence three times, before he could succeed in taking it 
out. “ Oh,” Alphonsus exclaimed when all was done, 
“ how firmly this tooth was fixed!” Then turning to the 
barber, he said gaily: “Master N., henceforth you will 
have no more of my custom.” 

Alphonsus had waited, to celebrate pontifically at St. 
Agatha, until the Annunciation, under which title the Blessed 
Virgin was the patron of his church, though he had done 
so in other churches on various feast days. In order to 
enhance the solemnity of these first functions, he had ob¬ 
tained from the Pope a plenary indulgence to all who 
should, after having assisted at them, approach the sa¬ 
craments, or visit the cathedral, the same day. From 
morning till night the cathedral was filled with the faithful. 
He had obtained the same favor for the visitations in the 
diocese. Alphonsus was consoled at the happy success of 
these, his first labors. “I am well,” he wrote to our Fathers at 
Nocera, “and thanks be to God, our labors are fruitful.” On 
the other hand, he wrote to F. Villani: “ I am full of anxiety 
for my church, this spouse whom God has given me.” 

However great had been Alphonsus’ zeal during the 
mission and spiritual exercises, he had not been able to 
convert all. A canon of his cathedral had for many years 
grieved his superiors and fellow-citizens by the most la¬ 
mentable behaviour. Supported by the credit of his family, 
and strong in the protection of one of his colleagues in the 
chapter, he had not attended to the remonstrances of the 
preceding bishop, and he despised still more Alphonsus, in 
whom he only saw a little man, whose humble exterior an¬ 
nounced nothing but poverty, and who was bent down 
under the weight of years; he did not care the least, there- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


221 


fore, for the repeated kind warnings which he gave to him 
and carried his contempt so far as to use unbecoming ex¬ 
pressions. Alphonsus invited him several times to his 
table; at last, he threw himself at his feet, and taking the 
crucifix from his breast, he presented it to him, and said with 
tears: “My son, if you will not do what I ask you in con¬ 
sideration of the character with which I am invested, do it 
for Jesus Christ’s sake, who died on the cross for you 
and for me:” nothing succeeded ; equally indifferent to the 
name of God, and the entreaties of his bishop, he conti¬ 
nued to live as he had done before. Alphonsus, after having, 
besides, had recourse to the mediation of several good peo¬ 
ple, without success, at last sent for him, and told him that 
if he did not repair the scandal he gave, he would crave 
the aid of the sovereign’s arm. This menace made the 
culprit very angry, and he became so furious, that he nearly 
used violence towards the bishop. 

All the mild measures which Alphonsus used for the 
conversion of another individual, a beneficiary at Majano, 
equally failed, and so exasperated the man against the mo¬ 
ther of the object of his passion, who had complained to 
Alphonsus, that on the night of the 4th of August, he fired 
against the door of the house, killed the mother, and 
wounded one of the little children. It was then that Al¬ 
phonsus, seeing no other resource, applied to the King, 
and an order was despatched to the President of Monte- 
fusco, to arrest the two criminals, and place them in the 
prison of that town. The canon was arrested by the po¬ 
lice, in the public place of St. Agatha. There was an ex¬ 
traordinary consternation in consequence, but all were 
amazed at Alphonsus’ zeal and courage. 

The relations of the canon used all their interest to con¬ 
ciliate Alphonsus’ clemency, and to induce him to keep 
him in the prison of the officially. Alphonsus, wishing to 
pacify them, and prevent further excesses, sought for some 
one to inform them of the impossibility of satisfying thei 
request. As the secretary was too dejected to go, and be 
sides, did not wish to leave the bishop, Alphonsus hurried, 
19* 


m 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSE'S. 


himself, to call a chaplain of the cathedral; he met one, 
who, vested in his choir-dress, came out of the sacristy at 
the very moment. On seeing him, the bishop said, in a 
quick and animated way: “ Take off these things. . ... ” 
At these words the chaplain fainted, and fell at his feet. 
The bishop could not understand the cause of such terror, 
but the mystery was soon cleared up. He had believed 
himself arrested like the canctn, being also engaged in 
criminal courses. “Two birds are killed with one stone,” 
said Alphonsus, “the finger of God is here, let us pray him 
to finish that which he has begun.” The chaplain was so 
frightened at the meeting, that he thought no more of the 
past, but only of an entire change of conduct, which was 
so exemplary from that time, that Alphonsus, after some 
years, allowed him to hear confessions. 

The relations of the canon obtained his re-entry into St. 
Agatha, on condition that they should place two guards at 
their own expense, to prevent his escape. One day Al¬ 
phonsus sent for him: “My dear canon,” he said to him, 
“ it is not you that I punish, but your sin ; I love your soul, 
and desire that it should not be lost. Remember then, that 
you have a soul, and remember that there is a God.” He 
had the consolation to see that the canon insensibly began 
to think seriously; he often sent him books of devotion, 
figures of our Blessed Saviour on the cross, and of the 
Blessed Virgin. After one year’s imprisonment, the epis^- 
copal court condemned him to a three years’ seclusion with 
the Conventual Fathers, and it was not until a long time 
after, that the canon was enabled to say mass again. The 
beneficiary, on the other hand, was arrested on the same 
day at Majano, and kept in the common prison at Hevano, 
Alphonsus refusing him the privilege of ecclesiastics, as 
he had never worn their dress. After a long imprisonment 
he was condemned to ten years’ incarceration in a fortress. 
These two examples of severity produced a salutary fear in 
many, who hastened to reform their conduct. 

Alphonsus’ zeal did not manifest itself with less ardor 
and energy, with regard to the regular clergy and to lay- 



LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


223 


men. Among many others, we will give two examples. 
There was a monastery in the diocese, consisting of but four 
religious, including the Superior, who disgusted all repu¬ 
table people by their scandalous behaviour. After being 
sent for by the bishop, and admonished, they laughed at it, 
and did not reform themselves in the least. Alphonsus 
then cited them before the episcopal court, and informed 
their provincial of it. He tried to defend his religious. 
“ Your Reverence must send your subjects an order to go,” 
replied Alphonsus, “or I shall give them into the custody of 
the head of the police.” This menace had its desired ef. 
feet; two of the religious went off with the Superior; as 
the third was less culpable, Alphonsus was satisfied by his 
repentance. In the first mission, a married woman, who 
had lived for a number of years in adultery with one of the 
first gentlemen of the town, was converted, and went so 
far as to ask pardon publicly in the church, for the scandal 
she had given. After this generous confession, she yielded 
to seduction again, which caused inexpressible sorrow to 
the pious bishop. He wept over it, and the next morning, 
before day-break, he sent for the gentleman, represented 
to him the grievousness of his sin, and exhorted him to peni¬ 
tence; the man, as proud as he was powerful, turned his 
back upon him with disdain. The bishop, seeing his mis¬ 
conduct, still sent for him again, but the hardened offender, 
wearied by so many entreaties and reprimands, answered by 
insults, and even menaces. The bishop was not offended 
at it, but as he saw that the scandal continued, he informed 
the King. An order from the Minister of state being sent 
to the tribunal of Montefusco, a constable went to arrest 
the nobleman and the woman. Alphonsus was then at 
Airola; the gentleman, whose passion had made him fu¬ 
rious, had come to Airola also, accompanied by a troop of 
brigands, in order to ill-treat his bishop, and hasten his pas¬ 
sage to the other world, as he said, which he would have 
done, if another gentleman had not succeeded in persuad¬ 
ing him to retrace his steps. When Alphonsus heard of 
this, he said calmly: “He can assassinate me, if he likes: 


224 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


well! he will give me the crown of martyrdom.” When 
the wretched man recovered from his rage, and saw that he 
was the object of judicial pursuit, he fled from the diocese 
and retired into a distant country. The woman was arrested 
by the constable, bound, chastised, and taken to Monte- 
fusco, where she suffered the rigor of justice for many 
months, and was afterwards banished forever from the dio¬ 
cese. Alphonsus, hearing afterwards that the gentleman 
had returned, and was concealed in his house, feigned to 
be ignorant of it, in order to win him over the better, and 
succeeded in it so well through the medium of persons in 
authority, that he acknowledged his faults, cast himself at 
his bishop’s feet, and consoled him as much by the sincer¬ 
ity of his repentance, as he had grieved him at first by his 
scandalous conduct. 

The terror inspired by these and other examples of se¬ 
verity, had its salutary effects, not only at St. Agatha and 
Airola, but all over the diocese and its neighborhood. The 
same was not less the case with the following occurrence. 
On the arrival of Alphonsus in the diocese, a young libe¬ 
rated galley-slave was living in crime at St. Agatha. He 
was first reprimanded, but paid no attention to it. Al¬ 
phonsus had recourse to the magistrate, who ordered his 
arrest. He was seized in the house of his accomplice, 
and as he resisted, he was killed on the spot. Alphonsus 
wept over the loss of his soul; but to give libertines a 
spectacle as salutary as it was terrible, he ordered, in con¬ 
cert with the authorities, that his corpse should be placed 
on a mule, between four lighted torches, and thus carried 
out of town, and thrown into a ditch. The blessing of the 
Lord, which was granted to this zeal of our saint, is the 
most glorious justification of his conduct. Nothing but 
this divine blessing on the exertions of the saintly bishop 
could have changed a field full of weeds into a flourishing 
vineyard. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


225 


CHAPTER XX. 

Jilphonsus commences his Episcopal Visitation. He reforms 
and regulates the Diocesan Seminary. His zeal , prudence 
and manner of life during the visitation of the diocese. 

A LPHONSUS commenced his episcopal visitation in the 
town and surrounding country. “Why put off until 
to-morrow, that which can be corrected to-day?” he re¬ 
plied to some who wished him to defer it on account of the 
heat, “it is wrong to temporise with abuses.” He had 
convoked the treasurer, Cacciopuoti, the Dominican Mas¬ 
ter, F. Caputo, the theological canon, D. Evangelist Dud- 
dio, and the archdeacon Francis Rainone, all men distin¬ 
guished for their piety, prudence and knowledge, as well 
as several curates, with whom he consulted at once, in order 
to see what would be best suited to procure the good of 
the. diocese. The seminary was the principal end of this 
first visitation: “It is on the seminary,” said he, “that I 
found all my hope of sanctifying the diocese. If that does 
not second me, all my trouble will be of no avail.” He 
found a great number of scholars in it, but all were not ac¬ 
cording to his heart. He therefore ordered a general ex¬ 
amination, at which he assisted in person, and afterwards, 
found an excuse for giving the vacation sooner than usual. 
When it was ended, he wrote to all the pupils, to tell them 
that all those who wished to re-enter the seminary, should 
address a request to him to that effect. Thus he was able 
to make his choice, and purify the house ; this decimation 
was painful to the relations of the rejected subjects, but, 
seeing, themselves, their misconduct, or want of aptitude, 
they began soon to appreciate the wisdom of their bishop. 
The buildings of the seminary had more the appearance of 
a prison, than of a house of education, being too confined, 
and unhealthy for want of air, and subject to a most trou¬ 
blesome multiplication of insects in summer. He sent for 
two architects from Naples, to remedy these evils, and 


226 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


to repair the interior of the building, directing their labor 
himself. He conceived at the same time the grand project 
of pulling down all the old buildings entirely, and raising 
new ones instead. A plan was got ready, materials were 
procured, and without delay the work was begun. For the 
government of the seminary, he established new rules, full 
of wisdom and prudence, so much so, that many bishops 
adopted them afterwards for their own seminaries. Don 
Lucas, who had been at the head of the establishment for 
more than thirty years, was more than an octogenarian, 
and, in consequence of this, his advanced age, little fit for 
the government of it. In order not to hurt this poor 
old man, Alphonsus confirmed him in his post, and a co¬ 
adjutor was given to him, in the person of F. Caputo, the 
Dominican Master. He spared nothing in order to choose 
good masters, whose knowledge and conduct might serve 
as models. He abolished the custom of giving the office 
of prefect to a student, wishing that exemplary priests 
alone should have the charge. He chose for porter, a dili¬ 
gent man, full of the fear of God. “If death,” said he, 
“enters into us by the windows, it enters into seminaries 
by the doors.” A porter went out one evening, without 
leave from the president; Alphonsus had him discharged 
immediately, notwithstanding his tears, and the interces¬ 
sion of several persons. 

The autumn vacations were shortened, and replaced by 
innocent recreations and feasts. “ A month’s vacation,” he 
said, “is enough to lose all that has been gained with much 
labor during the year, and which is replaced by sin and 
vice.” He found the terms of the sefhinary were equitable, 
but he could not approve that when a pupil went away 
from infirmity, or any other cause, he was made to pay for 
the whole six months, and it was with difficulty he con¬ 
sented to the seminary’s receiving payment for the month 
of vacation, as was done every where else. He did not 
wish any distinction in the provisions for the Superiors, he 
called it a detestable abuse, and wished to see all treated 
equally well. They complained that the cook was not 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


227 


skilful; Alphonsus sent his own, several times, to instruct 
him. Often, at the dinner hour, he went to examine the 
cleanliness of the dishes, and above all, if the bread and 
wine were good. Once he found the bread was not of a 
good quality. The Superior and the housekeeper were im¬ 
mediately sent for and reprimanded, and he ordered that 
all the bread in the seminary should be immediately given 
to the poor. When he officiated pontifically, he was in the 
habit of giving each pupil a small tart, or slice of cake, pre¬ 
pared by his own cook, and was, besides, always provided 
with sweetmeats for these family rejoicings. 

He forbade the dictation of lessons, and wished that 
printed books should be used. He prohibited Italian poe¬ 
try, and romances. Before this, Greek had also been 
taught, but he did not think it necessary, as the students 
were mostly of the diocese, and destined to supply the nu¬ 
merous churches of the surrounding villages: “Greek is 
very good in the East,” he said, “but for us, who are in 
the West, Latin is what we want. My diocese requires 
good confessors, who may aid me in helping the souls of a 
number of country people.” However, he allowed a slight 
knowledge of it, sufficient for reading and understanding 
certain passages which occur in philosophical and theolo¬ 
gical authors. Scholars who returned home for their meals, 
and to sleep, he would not allow, saying: “ They serve as 
messengers for the seminarists, which is very dangerous for 
the morals of both.” He was in the habit of being 
present at the lesson twice a week. He took pleasure in 
hearing the rehearsals, and took part in the discussions. He 
fixed that once a month, theses should be publicly main¬ 
tained on philosophy or theology, and, when confined to 
bed by illness, he wished the meeting to take place in his 
room. He established also, an exercise for preaching, once 
a week, at which he made some of the canons, chaplains, 
curates,fand other ecclesiastics assist, also. To cause virtue 
to dwell in the seminary, he established half an hour’s me¬ 
ditation in public, each morning, after mass, and prescribed 
examination of conscience, in common, twice a day, in the 


228 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


morning, before dinner, and in the evening, before night 
prayers ; and during the morning and evening meals, spiri¬ 
tual reading took place by his orders, as it had not been 
the custom before. He prescribed, besides, a visit to the 
Blessed Sacrament and the Holy Virgin, together with the 
recitation of the Rosary. Usually, on Saturday, he went 
himself, before going to church, to give them a practical 
sermon on the beauty of virtue. He introduced the practice 
of Novenas, in honor of Jesus and Mary, with some morti¬ 
fication, on certain days, recommending them to forego 
something at table, to eat kneeling, or sitting on the floor, to 
fast in the ordinary manner, or on bread and water, leading the 
young people to fly all effeminacy; besides, he exhorted them 
strongly to the cultivation of humility, of obedience to their 
Superiors, and of fraternal love, instead of vain friendships, 
taking rise in sympathy and a spirit of worldly rivalry. He 
instituted a monthly retreat, and every year, before the re¬ 
commencement of study, all had to go through the spiritual 
exercises for eight days. As a kind of relaxation, he gave 
them a virtuous and zealous ecclesiastic to teach them 
chanting. He set the hymns he had composed, to music, 
and had them taught to the young people in relaxation time, 
and liked to hear them sing them at recreation ; he often 
joined them himself, and was exceedingly pleased to see 
them joyous and contented. In order to be admitted into 
the seminary, it was necessary to give certain proofs of ex¬ 
emplary conduct; he inquired if the subject frequented the 
sacraments, if he assisted at mass in the morning, and at 
the visit in the evening. 

"When the seminary was thus regulated, all became edi¬ 
fying there, and although he had not fixed communion 
every fortnight, as he had done for confession, many ap¬ 
proached the sacred altar every week, and others, still more 
frequently. Charity dwelt amongst them, they studied di¬ 
ligently, and each one advanced in virtue and knowledge. 
The saintly bishop rejoiced at it, and was accustomed to 
call the seminaryt he apple of his eye, or the jewel of his 
diocese. To preserve it in this state, he exerted himself, 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


229 


and solicitously watched to prevent every seed of corrup¬ 
tion, establishing secret inspectors, and frequent visits of 
the rooms. He spared no one; a very orderly young man 
was surprised reading a Neapolitan poet, Alphonsus made 
him come down from the course of rhetoric, into that of 
grammar, in which he had to remain till a new course began. 
Having heard that some rather loose verses were circulated 
in the seminary, he ordered immediately a search, and such 
great terror spread among the pupils, that he who had 
those verses swallowed them, not having time to get rid of 
them otherwise. Two were found having forbidden knives, 
they were immediately dismissed. Three others committed 
an act of levity, through the windows, towards a woman 
who had often to pass in the court, he sent all three away 
on the spot, notwithstanding their submission and pro¬ 
mises, and the entreaties of several respectable persons. 
After many years he admitted one of them to the sub-dia- 
conate, on the representations of his curate, who exposed 
the wants of his church, and made a protest as to the 
amendment of the candidate, but Alphonsus thought he 
perceived other faults in him, though less considerable, so 
he left him a subdeacon. He perceived a certain vice in 
the nephew of a professor; he dismissed him the same in¬ 
stant, without any regard to his uncle, who asked in tears 
for his forgiveness, and who, when he saw the bishop’s in¬ 
flexibility, gave up his class and left the seminary. “ What 
charity ! What charity!” he answered to those who wished 
to intercede on similar occasions, il to pity one individual, 
and risk the ruin of all the rest ? that is not charity, it is 
cruelty.” One example is known of a young man, who, 
after having fallen, found pardon from Alphonsus. He had 
not sinned against morality, but being wearied of study, he 
had run away from the seminary twice, and he found mercy 
only in consideration of his belonging to a place singularly 
abandoned, where there was not a single priest. 

Alphonsus, though inflexible towards the vicious, had a 
father’s tenderness for those who were worthy of his care. 
One of these had maintained in a brilliant way, several 
20 


230 


LIFE OP ST. ALPHONSUS. 


theses of theology; as he was poor, he gave him several 
ducats each ye^r; and when he noticed any young man of 
talent among the children of the inhabitants of small 
places, he tried to persuade him to embrace the ecclesias¬ 
tical state, and generously gave him an entrance into the 
seminary. “The seminaries were only instituted for the 
help of the churches,” he replied to the members of the com¬ 
mission who objected to this charity, “ and the pious per¬ 
sons who left their goods in favor of these establishments, 
could have had no other intention than the good of the in¬ 
habitants, and especially of the poor.” It was thus, that he 
procured excellent priests for many villages and country 
places, of which they had till then been destitute. 

For preventing the vacations being of any injury to the 
morality of the young men, he prescribed that they should 
make half an hour’s meditation every morning in their 
parish church, before mass; they had to visit the Blessed 
Sacrament every evening, and on feast days, to be present at 
all the offices, as well as the instructions of the curate ; they 
were to approach the sacraments of penance, and the eu- 
charist, every eight days without fail, and never to leave the 
house without the soutane, collar, and cincture. They were 
not on any account to be present at vintages, and still less 
at hunts. These rules were sent to the curates of the young 
seminarists. No one was re-admitted into the seminary who 
had not an attestation of good conduct from the curate. 
Several pupils, for having committed very slight faults against 
these regulations, experienced all his severity. 

While Alphonsus labored for the reform of the seminary, 
he neglected nothing which could be conducive to the 
end of the visitation. Being informed of the disedifying 
conduct of several priests, he made some retire into mon¬ 
asteries, and punished others by imprisonment; but the 
greater number yielded to his charitable remonstrances, 
and by their after-conduct consoled the heart of their 
pastor. The sacrifice of the altar and the sacrament of 
penance were the principal objects of his care during the 
visitation. He assembled the priests for examination on the 


LiFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


231 


rubrics at an altar erected for the purpose ; he instructed the 
least capable himself, and confided several to the care of 
others. Some he found so inobservant in regard to the 
most essential rubrics, that he was obliged to suspend 
them, and he only reinstated them with difficulty and after 
many months probation. This necessary rigor caused the 
rubrics to be studied, and mass was celebrated every where 
with an admirable degree of precision and devotion. He 
examined also the confessors, but to use the necessary 
prudence, he called only those before his council who were 
pointed out to him as relaxed or ignorant, and questioned 
them in order to know whether he could continue their facul¬ 
ties. In a certain village, he found two in the most complete 
ignorance; besides prohibiting them from hearing con¬ 
fessions, he forbade them even to say mass; some time 
after, he permitted them to celebrate, but continued to 
refuse to let them sit in the sacred tribunal. He found 
even several curates wanting in necessary knowledge. In 
the town and suburbs alone he found four completely in¬ 
capable. He appointed them canons, in order not to 
injure their reputation, and to avoid the evil which might 
have resulted to those who would have been alarmed 
at severities exercised towards men whose functions had 
acquired their confidence. One of them had deviated so 
far from i;ule, that Alphonsus was obliged to propose his 
immediate resignation. He wished to resist, but was 
forced to yield whether with good or bad grace. After a 
scrupulous examination of the town and surrounding 
country, he commenced the following year to visit the 
other parts of the diocese. The following facts and ordi¬ 
nances will serve to illustrate his zeal for the glory of God 
and the welfare of His Church, as also his prudence, wis¬ 
dom, and firmness. 

He met with a curate, well informed and of excellent 
character, who could not resolve to reside, pretending that, 
his church was too isolated, and that his parishioners w r ere 
few and scattered about, and who, in consequence, lived in 
town* The most he did was to say mass on Sundays and 


232 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


feast days. Alphonsus enjoined him to reside in the pres¬ 
bytery ; he resisted and was ordered immediately to resign. 
As he hesitated, Alphonsus said to him : “Decide, give in 
your resignation, or I will suspend you.” Afterwards, by 
mildness he was able to persuade him, and obtained all he 
had wished for. Wishing to spare him, he obtained a dis¬ 
pensation from the Pope for him with regard to the fruits 
of his charge, which he had gathered so ill. 

He found that in a rural church there was a door in the 
interior which gave entrance into the cell of a hermit; he 
immediately prohibited women from all access to the her¬ 
mitage, under pain of excommunication ipso facto, and 
threatened the hermit with three months imprisonment and 
the deprivation of his hermitage, if he dared to introduce 
them there for the time to come. He ordered other hermits, 
in order to prevent them from enriching themselves by the 
alms of the faithful, to place all that was not necessary for 
their support in the hands of a canon, to be employed for 
the benefit of the respective churches. 

He met with a priest who had obtained permission from 
Rome to wear a wig, nevertheless not without his bishop’s 
approbation. Alphonsus wished to seo.it, and not think¬ 
ing it suitable, he sent for a vessel of boiling water, into 
which he plunged the wig, and thus straightened its curls. 
^‘This is how it ought to be,” said he, “and in- no other 
way.” In all ecclesiastics he blamed and prohibited the 
wearing of curled hair, and the use of perfumes. He for¬ 
bade them also under pain of suspension latae sententiae 
to wear colored mantles, and prohibited their entrance 
into the church without the soutane. To remedy the pre¬ 
cipitation with which some celebrated mass, he declared 
that whoever did so in less than a quarter of an hour should 
incur suspension latae sententioe. 

He found in a convent a nun, who forgetting her duties 
as a spouse of Christ, afflicted all the house by her irregu¬ 
larities. She was a Neapolitan. Alphonsus sent her 
away, and had her conducted back to her home by several 
excellent priests; but she soon again presented herself at 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


233 


the convent door. The bishop on hearing that she acted 
with violence in order to enter it, and that she received the 
aid of her parents, who had accompanied her, went to the 
convent himself to prohibit her re-entering it. 

Finding that a great number of the laity transgressed the 
commandment of the paschal communion, he charged the 
curates to insist upon it, and not to give rest to those who 
refused to amend. He sent for several, to warn them him¬ 
self and to urge them to perform their duties; to others he 
sent warnings in writing. It was a custom, or rather a 
general abuse in the diocese, that after the ceremony of 
betrothment, the parents received the young aspirant to 
their daughter’s hand into their house. Despairing of 
being able to prevent these dangerous meetings, except by 
rigorous measures, he made it a reserved case, and alarmed 
the offenders by threatening them with excommunication. 

Throughout the diocese, the catechising of the children 
only took place in Lent. He ordered, under very severe 
penalties, that it should take place every Sunday and feast 
day, as well as every day during Lent. In order to remedy 
the ignorance of the people, he recapitulated the most 
essential points of Christian doctrine, and had them printed 
on one sheet for their convenience; besides, he ordered 
that these instructions should be put on a tablet board, and 
be read by the curates and other priests, on every feast day, 
at the first mass, and at that at which the most people was 
present; and he prohibited confessors, under pain of sus¬ 
pension, from admitting any one to the sacrament of 
penance, in paschal time, who had not been examined by 
his curate on Christian doctrine, and was not provided 
with his certificate. Fearing that the sacrament of baptism 
was not well administered in cases of danger, through the 
ignorance of the midwives, he examined them himself, and* 
instructed them where there was need of it. 

He ordered all women of irregular life to come to him, 
and in presence of the curate he showed them on one 
hand his indignation, and on the other his mercy. “If 
you reform,” he said, “ you will find in me a father full of 
20 * 


234 


LIFE OF ST. A.LPHONSUS. 


charity; but if you remain obstinate in sin, I shall be to 
you a severe and importunate judge.” He advised the 
curates to watch over them and inform him of their conduct. 
A great number of these repentant sinners experienced 
acts of love on Alphonsus’ part, but the incorrigible be¬ 
came the objects of his justice and severity, so that he 
invoked even the civil authority against them. 

He established every where, the practise of paying in the 
evening a visit to the Blessed Sacrament and to the Holy 
Virgin. 

As for the churches, he caused the walls to be white¬ 
washed, the furniture as well as the buildings to be repaired, 
and ordered to dust every part of the church every week, and to 
clean the holy water stoups. “ The house of God,” he said, 
“demands cleanliness and decency, and too much pains 
cannot be taken to put it in proper order, for it is difficult 
for people to pray where their sight is painfully affected by 
what they see.” A cobweb in a church was the cause of 
a severe reprimand to the curates and sacristans. He for¬ 
bade images and altars to be preserved which had become 
disfigured by time, saying: “An image is useless, when it 
does not inspire devotion.” He ordered that all chalices 
and ciboriums, which had need of it, should be re-silt in 
the space of two months. Many unsuitable ones were 
-ordered to be replaced, and ornaments capable of repairs 
to be put in a good state. A great quantity of albs, cha¬ 
subles, copes, and missals, &c , were rejected, and great 
cleanliness in corporals and lirten for the altar was exacted. 
Where they were wanting, he ordered to be procured, cano¬ 
pies for the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, and for 
the viaticum, as also remonstrances; and he had the cotton 
lining in tabernacles replaced by silk lining If little 
anxiety in making the necessary expenses for these things 
was shown, he declared that wherever omissions and faults 
in these points should be found, he would stop the 
revenues. 

At Airola, having been informed of the dissolute conduct 
of some laics, he sent for them and gave them a paternal 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


235 


correction; but finding them incorrigible, lie imprisoned 
them, and afterwards banished them by the aid of the 
Prince della Riccia. A nobleman of the first rank, was 
engaged in a criminal intercourse, and instead of amend¬ 
ing, as Alphonsus had succeeded in making him promise, 
he quarrelled with his wife, and for fear she should denounce 
him to Alphonsus, he threatened to take her life. Alphon¬ 
sus immediately ordered his arrest, and had him banished 
with the prince’s aid; and as he continued to live in 
licentiousness, the prince, at the instigation of Alphon¬ 
sus, shut him up in a state prison, where he died in 
impenitence. 

While Alphonsus thus performed the visitation of his 
diocese, God proved him by infirmities and sickness. His 
asthma tormented him again at Airola, and this tor¬ 
ment was soon followed by a fever, accompanied by 
symptoms which appeared mortal. It was proposed to him 
to send for some skilful doctor from Naples: “The doctors 
of Airola will suffice for me,” he replied, “ have they not 
studied out of the same books as those at Naples? besides 
my life is not of so great value.” The state in which he 
was did not prevent the continuation of the visitation ; his 
place was supplied by the Grand-Vicar, whom he ordered 
to go through the surrounding country, while he himself 
received accounts of the state of things from the curates 
and several gentlemen, and gave the necessary instructions 
and orders. 

During this illness he did not fail to communicate each 
day at a mass said in his own room, and to make his cus¬ 
tomary meditations in the morning and evening. On the 
ninth day, the malady got worse, and he asked if there 
were any danger. The physician knowing the firmness of 
the saintly invalid’s mind, partly avowed the real state of 
the case. Alphonsus then sent for his secretary, and 
ordered him to administer extreme unction to him without 
loss of time. He received it with pious confidence, his 
face manifested the joy of his soul and his entire submis¬ 
sion to the will of God; far from fearing death, he seemed 


236 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS* 


to invite it as a friend, who would deliver him from his 
exile and lead him to his true country. 

The visits which were paid him were burthensome to 
him; if he did not expressly dismiss the visitors, they w r ere 
obliged to retire, always finding him meditating or listen¬ 
ing to the reading of some pious book, which was not in¬ 
terrupted by the arrival of any one whatever. The doctor 
cautioning him not to fatigue himself by too much applica¬ 
tion, he replied: “ It is that which relieves me; without it my 
illness would be too painful to me.” His health improved 
after the fifteenth day, and he was scarcely convalescent, 
when he returned with ardor to the objects of his pastoral 
care. He was still in bed, when he examined priests on 
the rubrics and made them practice under his own eyes, 
and examined several on moral theology. 

In all populous parishes, he established the Congregation 
of “Cases of Morals” for the Clergy. In order that the 
same case should be discussed on the same day throughout 
the diocese, and that no one should find an excuse for not 
being prepared, he made a choice of several questions 
himself, and every year he had the list of cases for each 
week printed in the calendar of the diocese. He also 
wished that note should be taken of all the decisions and 
conferences, for future use. The rubrics of mass were also 
made the subject of special exercises in these conferences. 
Besides this re-union for the study of morals, he attached a 
school of moral theology to the cathedral, which had to 
assemble every week in his palace, he himself presiding at 
the sittings, whenever he could. This academy was a sweet 
source of consolation to Alphonsus, and its members were 
those he most frequently chose for curates. 

Besides, as there was a great number of young men 
unable to maintain themselves in the seminary for want of 
the means, Alphonsus anxious about their vocation, founded 
societies on purpose for their benefit, under the manage¬ 
ment of learned priests, with all necessary regulations, cal¬ 
culated to make them useful for the diocese. He also 
instituted a society of priests in his capital, destined to give 


LIFE OF ST. A.LPHONSUS. 


m 


missions. These new missionaries distinguished themselves 
so much, that Alphonsus attached them to the Congrega¬ 
tion known at Naples by the name of the Conference. 
He established also in many places particular confraterni¬ 
ties for gentlemen, for young men, and for girls, who 
received in them instruction on their duties, and mutually 
encouraged each other in virtue and goodness. At Arienzo, 
God was pleased to manifest that he was with the saintly 
prelate, and inspired him with His holy zeal. One day 
in a sermon which he preached before the gentlemen 
he had united in such a congregation, he suddenly fell 
into an ecstasy, in which he appeared quite transfigured ; 
his face became beaming with so brilliant a light, that 
the church became resplendent as from the rays of the 
sun. 

He introduced the practice of mental prayer in common 
in the cathedral, as well as in the other parish churches; 
at the first mass, a priest, for the aid of the people, read at 
various intervals, a chapter on the eternal truths, the enor¬ 
mity of sin, or the mysteries of the passion of Jesus Christ. 

To remedy several disorders and evils which he observed 
during his visitation, he composed his little book on hur¬ 
ried mass, with acts of preparation and thanksgiving; also, 
another practical little book containing an easy and devout 
method of assisting the sick and dying, which he distri¬ 
buted to all the priests, and especially to the curates and 
vicars; and lastly, he summed up all the most essential 
things for the right administration of the sacrament of pe¬ 
nance, in one small volume, with all possible clearness, 
and in the vernacular tongue. He entitled it “The Guide 
to country confessors.” For which work many bishops 
testified to him their gratitude, for it spread speedily over all 
the kingdom. 

Having terminated the visit at Airola, Alphonsus returned 
to St. Agatha, and charged his Grand-Vicar to finish the 
visitation in the other parts of the diocese. As long as he 
was bishop, he made it a rule to visit it every two years, 
each year doing half, and he never failed in this. 


238 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


Humility and charity, penance and disinterestedness were 
his inseparable companions during these visitations. All 
the equipage consisted, besides himself, of his Grand-Vicar, 
his secretary, a canon of the cathedral, and a servant, who 
waited on them. A wretched hired beast was all his train, 
the saddle he had borrowed. He was seen seated as wo¬ 
men sit, on an ass, the bridle of which was held by a child 
of ten or twelve years. On the other side was the child’s 
father, who supported the bishop; a sight that caused all 
who beheld it to shed tears of compassion. As he never 
omitted any of his ordinary devotions, and never let any poor 
person pass without consolation, he got on so slowly, that 
he was often on the road, in the burning heat of the sun, so 
that the Grand-Vicar often excused himself from starting at 
the same time, and did not set out till towards evening. 
At Frasso, a person of distinction, who had prepared for 
his reception at his house, seeing him arrive on an ass, 
said : “Why, my lord, do you travel on an ass?” Alphon- 
sus replied with a smile, “hi in curribus et hi in equis, 
nos autem in nomine Domini.” “Some in carriages, and 
others on horses, but we in the name of the Lord.” At 
Mugnano, a gentleman offered him his carriage, but he de¬ 
clined it and said: “ I am so comfortable on this beast, that 
it is wonderful.” At Arpaja the canons exclaimed in their 
surprise at seeing such an equipage : “ What! to travel in 

this heat, and on an ass !” Alphonsus smiled, and point¬ 
ing to a vender of poultry, who happened to pass, said: 
“ Look at this poor man, which of us has come more easily, 
I on this ass, or he on foot, and with this basket on his 
head.” Here is another trait: one day he could not pro¬ 
cure enough beasts for all his followers: not wishing to in- 
commode any one, he set out on foot, accompanied by his 
servant. It was during the heat of the month of August. 
He had pity on the poor young man, who was bathed in 
perspiration. “My son,” said he, “ it is exceedingly hot, 
take off your waistcoat, and give it to me to hold.” The 
servant at first would not consent, but Alphonsus gave such 
persuasive reasons for it, that he was induced to give him 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


239 


(he waistcoat; he went very nearly half the way on foot, 
and he would have done so for the whole, if he had not 
been overcome by fatigue. On the way, he observed always 
the rule which he had fixed for his journeys, during which he 
was constantly engaged in saying the Rosary with those 
who accompanied him, and the litanies of the Blessed Vir¬ 
gin, with other prayers, in honor of his patron, and those of 
the different places through which he passed. 

Once, in going from Durasano to Frasso, being indis¬ 
posed, he made use of a conveyance, rather in order to 
please the Grand-Vicar. The coachman, through awk¬ 
wardness or drunkenness, upset them twice. The second 
time Alphonsus fell on the Vicar, and dislocated his wrist; 
he showed no sign of dissatisfaction, and though in great 
pain, he pursued his journey on a mule. He was to com¬ 
mence the pastoral visit at Frasso, the same evening, and 
so he would not stop and take rest in St. Agatha, near 
which he had to pass, but passing through a place called 
the Steps, a rich merchant forced him to alight at his house, 
and it was there that a doctor set his wrist. On arriving at 
Frasso, he opened the visitation the same evening, and as 
if nothing had befallen him, preached, and was as cheerful 
as usual. The merchant who had received him in his house, 
was rewarded for his charity by the miraculous cure of his 
son, who was ill at the time, and had been given up by the 
physicians. Alphonsus went to see the dying boy. On 
approaching him, he made the sign of the cross on his fore¬ 
head, and then turning to his father and mother, said to 
them : “ Be of good courage, and be assured that your son 
will recover.” Indeed, at the same moment, the child be¬ 
gan to get better, and three days afterwards he was walking 
about. 

At Airola, the prince of Riccia had placed his palace at 
Alphonsus’ service, and he had accepted it, not to displease 
a nobleman who had so powerfully protected him. His 
steward had prepared a magnificent bed for him in the 
apartment which the prince was in the habit of occupying 
himself; when Alphonsus saw it, he praised it highly, but 


240 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


examining afterwards the rooms prepared for his Grand- 
Vicar, and that destined for his valet, he gave the preference 
to the latter, saying, “ I shall be best off here, for I suffer 
from my chest; large rooms where there is much air are 
hurtful to me.” At Frasso, convenient rooms had been 
prepared for him and his Grand-Vicar, but for some reason 
or other, the Grand-Vicar was very much dissatisfied with 
his, and disturbed every one on account of it. Alphonsus 
heard of the thing, and said: “It is nothing, I know how 
to remedy it.” When the Vicar was gone to church, he 
had his own bed, w'hich was the plainest, moved in the 
Vicar’s room, and that of the Vicar, into his, who, on his 
return, seemed not to notice any change, and was quiet. 

At Real-Vale, God manifested how agreeable His servant’s 
humility was to him : the room which he inhabited in the 
house of D. Anthony di Martino, had been infested for a 
great many years, with beetles, and no means of getting 
rid of them could be found. The Saint passed a night 
there, and it was entirely freed. 

On arriving in a place, he went first to the principal 
church, where he opened the visitation by a discourse to 
the people, and announced the plenary indulgence. When 
the day after his arrival was a Sunday or feast day, he of¬ 
ficiated pontifically, if the parish was populous enough, 
and if the church was not a collegiate one, he sent, at his 
own expense, for seven canons from the cathedral, or the 
nearest collegiate church, and also for the seminarists of 
the place. The second day he commenced the mission in 
the afternoon, which lasted for eight days. He preached 
himself every day, and in the evening visited the Blessed 
Sacrament with the people, which was in itself another ser¬ 
mon. The people' were so touched by his words, that at the 
first sound of the bell, every one hastened to the church, 
“to hear,” as they said, “the Saint who smoothed their 
way to heaven.” He also gave a retreat to the clergy every 
morning during those eight days, as well as at the convents 
which were in the town. He assembled the children after 
vespers for catechism, being anxious to see himself what 


LIFE OP ST. ALPHONSUS. 


241 


instruction they received. He instructed also the children 
for confirmation, himself. He wished that the children 
should be at least from seven to eight years old, to be ad¬ 
mitted to the reception of this sacrament, and that all 
should be present at the first imposition of hands, recom¬ 
mencing the imposition when others were assembled again. 
He was so scrupulous on this point, that if any one came 
too late, he administered the sacrament to him in the pri¬ 
vate chapel, not to put him off till another year. For the 
infirm, who were not yet confirmed, he went to visit them, 
in order that they might not die without the benefit of this 
sacrament, or be too long deprived of it. On one such oc¬ 
casion, at Airola, he predicted the death of the invalid. 
He was a young man, to whom he said : “My dear Pascal, 
be very glad, for in three days you will go to Paradise.” 
The third day arrived, and the sick man seemed far from a 
speedy death, for he appeared to 4>e better; however, to¬ 
wards the close of the day, the symptoms of fever became 
more alarming, and before night, young Pascal was dead, as 
Alphonsus had foretold. 

The poor were also the object of his solicitude, in his 
visitations. He inquired into the miseries of all, from the 
curates and others. He strove particularly to know those 
whose houses were irregular, and who made their children 
sleep, pell-mell, in the same bed. When he was convinced 
that their indigence was real, he endeavored to supply beds, 
clothes, and all other necessaries; but he cared most for 
widows, as also for young women in danger,, and spared no 
expense in aiding them. The sick, above all, the sick poor, 
were not forgotten, he inquired about them most solicit¬ 
ously, went to visit them himself, and consoled them by 
his words, and by his alms; and desired their medicines to 
be furnished at his own expense. ' 

The spirit of mortification also accompanied Alphonsus 
on these visitations. His table was the same as at St. 
Aoratha, wherever he went, both for himself, and his suite, 
and he never omitted his seasonings of bitter herbs. Neither 
did he exempt himself from mortifying himself daily by hair- 
21 


242 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONStTS. 


cloths and disciplines. Once, when setting out, he had 
forgotten the instruments of penance; he immediately sent 
his servant to seek for them secretly. The person who 
made his bed in the morning, when he was at Real-Vale, 
attested that the sheets were spotted with blood, and small 
stones were found in the bed. The valet de chambre of 
Prince della Riccia, at Airola, also attested that at his de¬ 
parture he found nine stones as large as an egg, on the 
mattress. For a great number of years, and until his in¬ 
firmities became extreme, he carried the covering of his 
straw bed about with him, and wherever he arrived, he had 
jt filled with straw, and did not use the bed which had been 
prepared for him. In the morning, he occupied himself in 
meditating on sacred things, from the moment of his 
awaking, and in the evening, after his own prayers, he as¬ 
sembled his family to recite the Rosary, and the other ac¬ 
customed prayers, in common. His disinterestedness was 
such, that he always returned from his rounds destitute of 
money, and burthened with debts; for he scrupulously ob¬ 
served the law he had made to himself, never to accept any 
present, and besides, reduced the fees of the visitation to 
nearly nothing. For the members of his household, he 
recommended them to keep to the maxim of St. Francis of 
Sales: “Ask for nothing, and refuse nothing.” 

Such conduct gained him general esteem and respect, 
so much so, that people thought themselves happy if they 
could obtain a small piece of his garment. His mitres 
were several times found without pendants, and one day a 
piece was cut off his cloak. These relics were very care¬ 
fully preserved; they were applied to the sick, and every 
where they related what miraculous cures had been pro¬ 
duced by their touch. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


243 


CHAPTER XXI. 

His Conduct at his Brother's second Marriage. His Zeal 
for the Preaching of the Word of God by Himself and 
Others. His Charity during a Famine. 

D HERCULES having become a widower about this 
• time, (1763,) and having no heir, resolved to enter into 
a second marriage. He imparted his design to Alphonsus, 
asking him to aid him by his prayers and by saying masses 
for this intention. With regard to the projected marriage, he 
answered him on the 9th of November, 1763: “ I begof you 
to be very careful to choose a young woman of moral habits, 
not a vain person, or one who w r ould be disposed to take 

advantage of your advanced age.It would be 

better, as I have already written to you, that she should 
have less of birth and fortune, than that you should run the 
risk of some vexatious embarrassments happening to you. 
Be sure to declare your intention from the first, both to her 
and her parents, and say to them that you do not like visits, 
meetings, &c. When the wedding has taken place, try to 
give your wife good habits from the first; for this purpose 
take her to Marianella, and make a long stay there.” In 
another letter of the 12th of tlia same month, he says: “I 
am rejoiced that such good alliances are offered to you. 
Use all possible care to choose the wife who will make you 
least anxious, considering the times in which we live. Be 
persuaded, that young women have more affection for young 
men than for those in advanced age as you are. I would 
warn you of another thing, that now, when you are alone, 
you ought to take care to send all young female servants 
away from your house. The devil is always a devil, and 
with temptation so near, and in the liberty in which you 
are, I should tremble for myself. Can you not dismiss 
them for the present, and tell them that you will take them 
back when you again set up your establishment? You ask 
me for money, and I would wish that you could lend to 



244 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


me, for this year has been a gulf of expenses. I had to 
repair two houses, and had to pay to the Nuncio four hun¬ 
dred ducats for the dilapidation of the chapter. I have in¬ 
curred a debt of four hundred more, to meet the costs of 

buildings erected at the seminary.I sympathise 

with your pain in having to go to many expenses without 
having enough to supply for them. The misfortune is, that 
the episcopate is come to me at the same time as your 
marriage. Besides, I may say that I too am married, 
but to a spouse who leaves me no moment of rest.” D. 
•Hercules espoused D. Mariana Capano Orsini, of the illus¬ 
trious house of Nilo, a lady of exemplary conduct and ex¬ 
traordinary piety. Alphonsus rejoiced at her virtues more 
than at her titles, rendered thanks for it to God, and con¬ 
gratulated his brother. 

Alphonsus’ great anxiety for his brother, proceeded from 
a heart, which, though full of charity, was otherwise wholly 
detached from all which concerned the interests of flesh 
and blood; of which detachment he gave proof on all occa¬ 
sions. He never had the curiosity to inquire into the state 
of affairs of any of his relatives, and during the thirty years 
that he lived in the Congregation, though his journeys to 
Naples were so frequent, he only entered his paternal 
house once, when he had to fulfil a last duty to his mother, 
who was mortally ill. Though his brother lived in the same 
house in which the hospice of the Congregation was, as 
we have said before, he never visited him. One day he 
went to Naples and found the door of the hospice shut; 
he chose rather to eat a morsel of bread with some fruit 
in the ante-chamber, rather than to enter his brother’s 
apartment; and when the nuptials were celebrated, as 
custom seemed to require some present to the bride, Al¬ 
phonsus, for his only wedding present, gave her a paper 
print of the Blessed Virgin, inclosed in a little wooden 
frame. Don Hercules was displeased at this conduct, and 
returned the little frame almost angrily. “ My brother 
takes offence,” said Alphonsus, “ I have however more 
cause than he; what did he expect to receive ? I have so 



LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


245 


many poor here who die of hunger! yes, so many poor 
mendicants, and they demand that I should make presents.” 

Alphonsus held preaching, as among his first duties as a 
bishop. “This ministration,” he said, “is almost the only 
one that Jesus Christ seems to have imposed on the 
Apostles, and it is one which he exacts from his bishops; 
to fail in it is to neglect an express command.” So he 
became remarkable for his assiduity in preaching. When 
he was at St. Agatha, he never missed preaching every 
Sunday at the cathedral, after vespers, and on all feast days 
which fell during the week, he went to preach in the par¬ 
ishes. Every Sunday before the sermon, he catechised the 
little children, whom he attracted by giving them rosaries, 
pictures, and sometimes even money. He went also every 
Sunday to give instructions to the Congregation of nobles, 
and that of the young girls, which he had established. 
When he was at Arienzo, as the people could not easily 
come to the collegiate church, he preached alternately in 
one of the seven parishes of the town, and as his sermon 
was always accompanied with exposition of the Blessed 
Sacrament he furnished the candles on these occasions 
himself, saying: “I wish, for God’s glory, not to burden 
you with expense.” He was accustomed, before the ser¬ 
mon, to sing one of the pious hymns he had himself com¬ 
posed. Every Saturday, as he had vowed, he published 
also the praises of our Blessed Lady. Not satisfied with 
doing this himself, he established this devotion in the whole 
diocese, and according to the convenience of the people, it 
took place in one town on Saturday, and in another on 
Sunday, always with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. 
At Arienzo and in other populous parishes, he wished it to 
to be done twice, both on Saturday and on Sunday. Each 
month he visited a church fixed on beforehand, and made 
the protestation for a good death there, with a sermon and 
exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. It is impossible to 
believe what great good he effected by this exercise. 

During the three last days of the carnival, he was in the 
habit of having public adoration and exposition of the 
21 * 


246 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


Blessed Sacrament, to hinder the people from going to 
public shows, and from otherwise offending God. When 
he was at St. Agatha, there was a sermon in the morning, 
at which he assisted, and which was delivered by a deacon 
of the seminary. He preached, himself, in the evening, and 
enlarged on the exceeding love of Jesus Christ for man. 
He fixed that, at Arienzo, there should be in the church of 
the nuns of St. Philip, a sermon, with exposition, during the 
Sundays of Lent, after vespers, and this sermon he preached 
himself, whenever he was in the town ; however bad the 
weather might be, he never failed to go. One Sunday, a 
furious storm came on, notwithstanding which Alphonsus 
went, though ill, and urged not to go; he caught a cold, 
from which he suffered a long time, in consequence. The 
Conventual Fathers of St. Agatha were in the habit of 
exposing the Blessed Sacrament every Saturday in March, 
and had a sermon each time from one of their clerks. 
Seeing that these discourses were merely an exercise for 
the young men, and without fruit to the people, he offered 
to preach there himself; when he had no carriage, he 
went there always on foot, however severe the weather 
might be. Before the sermon, he sang his hymn; “O my 
Jesus,’ 5 in so touching a manner, that all the people melted 
in tears. The convent generally gave the young preacher 
ten carlins; Alphonsus, not to deprive the clerks of this 
retribution, wished they should continue to fix on some 
one who could preach in his stead, in case he should be 
prevented, and give him the same sum whether he preached 
or not. He also adopted the custom of celebrating the 
novena of the birth of our Blessed Lord in his cathedral, 
as well as that of the Assumption and that of St. Joseph; 
instead of which latter, he celebrated sometimes the seven 
days which precede the feast of this saint. The panegyric 
of the Saint, however, he left to one of the Capuchin fathers, 
not wishing to deprive these religious of the alms attached 
to it. During Lent, he was in the habit of giving the 
spiritual exercises to the regular and secular clergy at 
Arienzo, or at St. Agatha. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


247 


As soon as he knew that any particular solemnity would 
attract a great concourse of people in any church, he was 
there to preach. He said: “Jesus Christ began to convert 
souls by preaching, and by preaching this must be conti¬ 
nued. Every thing consists in preaching well, Jesus Christ 
crucified.” One feast day, at St. Mary del Vico, he passed 
before the church of St. Nicholas, and noticed that it was 
filled by the faithful; he immediately got out of the car¬ 
riage and entered the church to preach. He did the same 
on all other similar occasions. There was another reason 
which prompted him, whether ill or well, to preach on such 
extraordinary occasions. “ There is no festival,” he said, 
“where many sins are not committed,” and he wished to 
contribute, personally, towards the diminution or expiation 
of those sins. On Easter Monday, the people went in 
crowds to the convent of the Capuchins, at Arienzo, plea¬ 
santly situated on a hill. Many parties of people, of all 
classes, went there to pass the day in various diversions, “ to 
eat pigeons,” as they said. In order to prevent the disorders 
which might be committed, Alphonsus went to this church 
after vespers; he had exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, 
and when the people were assembled together, he preached 
for hours. “The Word of God;” he was in the habit of 
saying, “always brings forth fruit, and there is nothing 
which hell labors more to hinder than preaching.” His 
zeal was especially manifested when he had to preach to 
men, and particularly to nobles, or the learned; he said: 
“ When the men are converted, piety will reign among wo¬ 
men also.” He took also advantage of public calamities, 
to exercise the ministry of the Word. In the spring of the 
year 1768, there was so great a drought all over the diocese, 
but principally at Arienzo, that all the wells were dried up. 
In this general distress he celebrated a Novena in honor of 
our Blessed Lady, to implore the mercy of God; this ex¬ 
ercise became in fact a mission. On the first evening, after 
having addressed his numerous audience, he assured them, 
that if they would become truly converted, the Lord would 
comfort them, by sending an abundant rain on St. Anne’s 


248 LIFE OF 1ST. ALPHONSUS. 

day. He continued to preach on the just punishments 
which overtake the sinner, and often struck himself severely 
with a thick rope. He sent two Capuchin Fathers of Na¬ 
ples, through the neighboring country, after the sermon, to 
exhort people to penance; after this, he kept these two 
fathers with him, together with some others, to hear con¬ 
fessions. Dry weather continued, and there was no hope 
of rain; but on St. Anne’s day, towards noon, the heavens 
became covered with clouds, which poured forth an abun¬ 
dant rain, and watered all the distressed country, as he had 
promised. The consequence of all this preaching, was, 
that every where piety flourished, sin was done away with, 
crime disappeared. “Since his lordship’s arrival at St. 
Agatha, we have lost a great deal,” said an officer of justice, 
who had the care of the diocese, to a Neapolitan incum¬ 
bent, “for his sermons, and those he has caused to be 
preached, have made the people so peaceable, that there is 
no longer any disorder to be found.” 

He was not satisfied with putting his own hand to the 
plough for the culture of his vineyard; he wished to be as¬ 
sisted by laborers, animated by the same spirit, and provided 
with necessary science, to aid him in his toils, and hasten 
the maturity of the fruit. As soon as he entered the dio¬ 
cese, or rather, from the time he accepted the bishopric, 
he thought of missions. He applied, when at Naples, 
for laborers, to the Superior of the society of the Apostoli¬ 
cal Missions, and of that of the Conferences; he also so¬ 
licited the Superior of the Congregation of Pious Work¬ 
men, as well as the Provincial of the Jesuits, and addressed 
petitions to the Superior of the Missionary Priests of the 
church of St. George, and to the .Dominican Fathers. In 
the course of the autumn of 1762, the Superior of the 
Congregation of the Conference, placed more than five and 
twenty missonaries at his disposal; Alphonsus sent them 
to labor in several populous places, and caused the Pious 
Workmen to preach at Arienzo at this time, and the Jesuits 
at Durazzano. He repaired to Arienzo himself, “and I 
also,” he said to the Pious Workmen, “I wish to do some- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


249 


thing.” He gave the spiritual exercises to the gentlemen 
and noblemen, whom he united in a Congregation. In 
the sermon on the patronage of Mary, which he preached 
himself, he spoke with the fire of a seraph ; his face was 
illuminated, and its brightness shed a supernatural splen¬ 
dor in the church : he exclaimed at the same time, carried 
away in an ecstasy, “See, here is the Virgin coming to 
scatter blessings ; ask her for these blessings ; she is ready 
to grant you every thing.” Thus the Blessed Virgin, re¬ 
compensed, on this, as she had done on many other occa¬ 
sions, as we have seen above, the zeal of her servant for 
her honor; for it was Alphonsus who had introduced this 
sermon on the Blessed Virgin, and had made it a rule, that 
it should never be omitted. After the mission at Arienzo, 
he went with ten Dominican Fathers from Naples to St. 
Mary del Vico, a place of more than four thousand inhabi¬ 
tants; he himself undertook the principal sermon. Several 
times, while weeping over his people’s sins, he struck him¬ 
self in the pulpit most cruelly with a thick rope. The mis¬ 
sion lasted twenty-two days, and every one marvelled to 
see how an old man of sixty-seven, broken down with in¬ 
firmities, could bear up under so much fatigue. But what 
astonished them most was, his penitential life; for besides 
his other austerities, he never departed from the severe rules 
of diet, which he had prescribed to himself, especially for the 
time of missions, as we have seen before. 

One evening, after the Father who preached to the 
clergy had ended his sermon, Alphonsus unexpectedly 
presented himself before them, and said : “ If any one has 
any scruple about having obtained his benefice by simony, 
let him come to me; I am come here to help him.” The 
fact was, that a young ecclesiastic was in this case, and 
that, after having been to Alphonsus, he was freed from his 
scruple and preserved his benefice. At the mission of 
Airola, he contented himself with being present only, and 
returned at Christmas to Arienzo, and celebrated pontifi- 
cally in the collegiate church. During mass, after having 
received the precious blood, he entered on a sudden into 


250 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


an ecstasy, as many persons attested, and his face beamed 
with heavenly fire. 

After having visited all the diocese, he kept one of the 
most zealous missionaries with him, and caused him to 
give a spiritual renewal of the missions. Alphonsus, as we 
have said above, visited his diocese every two years, and 
he also caused the missionaries to go through it in the 
same space of time, and to those who blamed this multi¬ 
plicity of missions, he answered that skilful hasbandmen 
are accustomed to throw a double quantity of seed into 
places where the earth is dry and barren, and he added : 

“ It is thus we must do, if we would have an ample harvest. 
When the seed is sown in abundance, if all does not come 
up, at least a part of it does. Jesus Christ compares the 
Wojrd of God to wheat: if it is not sown, neither can it be 
gathered.” Besides these missions, he had also recourse 
to divers other exercises, as novenas and triduos, in order 
to strengthen the good, and awaken the sinful. From the 
first, he also introduced the adoration of the forty hours, at 
the carnival, and caused, then, the most zealous preachers 
to ascend the pulpit. 

He did not like to employ missionaries of his own Con¬ 
gregation, when he first arrived at St. Agatha, for fear that 
they might be suspected to be his spies. He founded his 
hopes on them, however, and in the end, caused some of 
them to come each year from Nocera, Ciorani, and St. 
Angelo. The two principal counsels he gave to all these 
missionaries were: charity towards sinners, and a popular * 
style in preaching, and he was very anxious to see them 
followed. Once, he spoke very plainly to one of them, 
whom he knew to be guilty of rigorism. “My father,” 
he said to him, “too much indulgence in a confessor is 
hurtful to souls, but too much rigor is not less prejudicial; 

I blame certain rigid spirits, who act not according to 
knowledge, and destroy rather than edify; with sinners, 
charity and mildness are necessary. Such was the method 
of Jesus Christ, and if we would lead souls to God and 
save them, we must not imitate Jansenius, but Jesus Christ, 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


251 


the chief of missionaries.” As to preaching: “When 
Jesus Christ preached,” he said, “ He did not use turns of 
sentences nor rhetorical expressions; all His words were 
on a level with the people’s comprehension; His proofs 
were natural, and never abstract. He used parables and 
comparisons, which, by striking the mind and heart, tri¬ 
umphed over the will. The Apostles were instructed by 
Him, and they imitated Him, and we also must do as they 
did ; otherwise journeys, expense, and fatigue of every 
sort, will all be useless.” One day, when he was present at a 
mission, he was seen to move about uneasily on his throne, 
because the preacher used chosen terms and studied phrases. 
The sermon was hardly ended, before he sent for the 
preacher, and reprimanded him severely, saying: “That is 
to betray the people and Jesus Christ; if you only seek to 
preach yourself, and not Jesus crucified, why did you take 
the trouble to leave Naples. I do not excuse you from 
mortal sin.” 

The expenses of these missions, except those that were 
provided for by foundations, were all placed to his own 
account. He paid for the journeys, lodgings, and food, 
even in case of labors which the missionaries undertook of 
their own accord. He freed the incumbent and the towns 
from all expense, furnishing even the oil and candles for the 
churches, and enabled the missionaries, besides, to give beds 
and other indispensable things to the poor, whose misery 
caused them to make their children sleep together, exhort¬ 
ing them to take particular care of necessitous families, 
converted females, and young girls in danger. Notwith¬ 
standing all this, he had sometimes much difficulty in over¬ 
coming the obstacles he met with from the incumbents. 
We give the following example, as it shows at the same 
time his incomparable forbearance and readiness to forgive. 
One incumbent had excused himself, saying that he had 
no house and could not procure one. Alphonsus, who 
divined his real feelings, answered that he must procure 
one, at any price, and that it would be defrayed for him. 
The priest replied in terms any thing but respectful. In- 




LIFE OP ST. ALPtfONSUS. 


dignant at this refusal, the grand-vicar and others wished 
him to be imprisoned, but Alphonsus blamed their hastiness 
and pitied the incumbent’s weakness, who in the end asked 
for the mission. On this, Alphonsus far from showing any 
further dissatisfaction, even begged his pardon. “ I do not 
say,” he wrote to him, “ that your reverence has put any 
impediment in the way, but I said that you did not show 
the anxiety I should have wished ; if I have been wrong 
in this, I hope that now all will be as before. Blessed be 
God, who has permitted this unpleasantness to arise to you 
as well as to me.” 

To cause the Lenten sermons to be as profitable as those 
of the missions, he also exacted their being in a popular 
style. As in many localities, the parishioners had the right, 
founded on ancient usage, of electing the preachers, he 
had often the sorrow to see elected persons who were far 
from being according to his own heart. In order to remedy 
this abuse, he never failed to speak to the most influential 
persons in each place, to get them to choose subjects who 
were well known, and according to his wishes, and lastly, he 
asked and obtained that the preachers should be chosen 
from among the Capuchin Fathers exclusively. Before 
giving his approbation to the preachers selected, he obliged 
them to engage to give the spiritual exercises during Pas¬ 
sion week, in the form of a mission, and those who showed 
repugnance to do so were always refused. He was in the 
habit of saying to those who nominated the preachers: 
“The right of election belongs to you, but it is fo'r me to 
regulate the subject, and the form of the sermons.” 

During this time of Lent, he was attentive in seeing that 
the confessors should mutually exchange parishes, pro¬ 
viding himself for their food and other expenses by means 
of the rural deans ; and in this way, the Lenten exercises pro¬ 
duced general advantage, thanks to the pains-taking care 
of the vigilant bishop. Besides, when the preachers and 
confessors presented themselves before him to receive his 
benediction, he liked to keep them, for some days, with him, 
and in conversing with them, he judged of their capability 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


253 


and knowledge. The obligations of the sacred ministry, 
charity towards sinners, and the necessity of encouraging 
them to penance, furnished him with inexhaustible subjects 
of conversation, but above all, with the motives for very 
particular exhortations. Even in panegyrics and sermons, 
on festivals, he wished, as we have seen, that the preacher 
should speak simply, in order that the people might profit 
by them. One day, on the celebration of the feast of the 
Sacred Heart, at Arienzo, they invited a celebrated preacher, 
of a well known order in Naples. Alphonsus, too ill to 
officiate, wished, notwithstanding, to be present, but suf¬ 
fered much in hearing flowery expressions and high flown 
phrases delivered by the preacher! If he did not quit the 
church, it was only to avoid creating disturbance in the 
ceremony. At last he turned towards the altar, and turned 
his back on the pulpit and preacher, and on reaching his 
house he sent for him, and in a tone of authority, thus ad¬ 
dressed him : “Is it not to wish to betray Jesus Christ and 
the people, to preach in that way? If I did not make you 
come down from the pulpit, it was from respect to the 
habit you wear. What fruit have the people gathered from 
all the tropes, from all the figures of speech and pompous 
descriptions with which you ornamented your discourse? 
All that was only the fruit of vanity, and can only merit 
the fire of purgatory. Your end ought to have been to 
touch hearts, and cause tears to be shed ; but the people 
were insensible, because they understood nothing.” 

In the year 1763, all Italy was a prey to most fearful dis¬ 
tress, a famine, which caused our saint to have an increase 
of sorrow and merits. He predicted this calamity, even 
before his election to the bishopric; for preaching once in 
Naples, and becoming more animated than usual, he ex¬ 
claimed: “Beware, beware, God will overtake us with fa¬ 
mine.” This he predicted on other occasions, and during 
the Mission of St. Agatha, he said : “My children, cease to 
sin, for a great calamity is threatening us,” and on another 
occasion : “Amend your lives, I repeat to you, and recom¬ 
mend yourselves to God, for a great famine will soon afflict 
22 


254 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


you.” The same prediction he repeated twice at Arienzo, 
in the year which preceded the fatal winter of 1763-1764, 
and expressed himself still more definitely. The people 
were wearied with these reiterated predictions, and said : 
“ Where is this bishop come from ? He only fortells famine 
and bad seasons.” After the harvest of 1763, he ordered 
his secretary to buy a great quantity of kidney and French 
beans, and other vegetables. No body understood the 
mystery, and all laughed at it, the secretary being the first 
to do so, for the harvest had been at least a tolerable one. 
But the month of November had not terminated, before the 
scarcity spread from one end of the kingdom to the other. 
It is difficult to imagine the holy bishop’s sorrow in seeing 
the multitude of starving poor; they had no bread left, and 
so all recurred to their common father for aid in their dis¬ 
tress. The large hall of the episcopal jfalace was some¬ 
times crowded with four or five hundred of these distressed 
people, who in the most suppliant posture, and with tearful 
eyes, begged for a morsel of bread. Alphonsus tried to 
relieve them all, saying to the servant: “Make them all go 
away satisfied, they only ask for what belongs to them.” 
He sent in every direction to obtain corn, and applied to 
D. Hercules, then governor of Naples, from whom he ob¬ 
tained plenty of corn, though it had already begun to be 
sold at six ducats the measure. He applied to his rich pa¬ 
trons, and received numerous donations, and was overjoyed 
at being able to assist his poor children. 

He had a large list placed in the great hall, on which all 
the necessitous families were noted down, alphabetically, 
and as they presented themselves, they received according 
to their poverty, a portion of beans or vegetables, together 
with some money. Besides this, he had arranged a private 
list of families, who were prevented from coming to his 
palace through shame or some other cause. But as he soon 
became destitute of money, he wished to borrow, by paying 
interest, but was constantly refused, nobody being willing 
to be satisfied with the guarantee of an old man, asthmatic, 
and broken down with infirmities. In this extremity he 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


255 


sold the ring, which he had received as a present from Jane 
Versale, as well as that which he had received from Bishop 
Giannini, (and which had belonged to his uncle, the bishop 
of Troy,) with his pectoral cross, only keeping one, silver 
gilt, for pontifical ceremonies. He ordered also his secre¬ 
tary to sell the little plate he had. Not knowing what else 
to sell, he w^s on the point of getting rid of his rochet and 
watch, but he gave up this idea on its being represented to 
him, that they were of little value, while to him a watch 
w T as indispensable. As the scarcity increased, he resolved 
to sell his carriage. Being opposed in this by the Grand- 
Vicar and others, he said: “St. Peter was Pope, and he 
had no carriage, why should I have one. I, who am not 
greater than St. Peter?” When D. Hercules interfered, 
and joined his opponents, he replied : “All these pretexts 
to induce me to keep my carriage, are only a temptation of 
the devil, in my opinion. I am old, I have already one 
foot in the grave; I am burthened with debts, I want a 
great deal of money, and am distressed to death at being 
able to do nothing. Do not trouble me any longer about 
this affair, for I will not answer you any more. You know 
very well, besides, that when I come to a resolution, after a 
careful examination, I never go back from it. I cannot 
bear to see the mules remaining in the stable nearly all the 
year with nothing to do, while the coachman is wasting his 
time, and the poor are asking for bread.” That which he 
had resolved on, he executed, and on the 5th of January, 
sent his carriage and mules to Naples. His brother, D. 
Gaetan, not wishing them to pass into the hands of stran¬ 
gers, bought them himself, and at a very high price. When 
he had nothing more to sell, he thought of getting rid of 
the plate which had belonged to his predecessors, the pas¬ 
toral cross, the ewer, and candlestick, as well as the pre¬ 
cious stone which adorned the clasp of the cope. But being 
resisted by the canons, he asked to be allowed, at least, to 
pledge these things; but this also was denied. This second 
refusal grieved him so much, that he was seen walking 
about, alone in his room, weeping and giving way to all the 


256 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


bitterness of his heart. While in this great sorrow, he en¬ 
vied rich bishops, as they had more power to do good. 
‘•Oh, that I merited as much before God, as St. Thomas of 
Villanova,” said he one day, “I might find my granaries 
filled with corn, as he did.” 

The scourge continuing to increase its ravages, the 
zealous pastor applied to the Pope, supplicating him to 
grant him the permission to mortgage all his income, in 
order to be able to succor the poor. But though the Pope 
consented to this, the answer did not arrive in time. He 
assembled, moreover, all the heads of the chapels together, 
and begged, or rather commanded them, to pawn all their 
plate. This was done, but it was only as a few drops of 
water cast on a great conflagration. The indefatigable 
pastor, however, took no rest; he daily assembled the prin¬ 
cipal gentlemen, canons, and chief functionaries, and con¬ 
sulted with them as to the means of relieving the town, and 
preventing the death of the poor by hunger. Many refused 
to give him money, but many others being moved with 
compassion, placed generous donations in his hands; others 
supplied him with money under the name of a loan, but, no 
doubt, never expected to recover the advances they made. 

But the pious pastor considered himself as charged with 
the sins of his people, and offered himself as a victim to 
the justice of heaven, he bound himself with hair-cloths, 
and disciplined himself most severely every day, and did 
not cease to excite the people also to do penance for their 
sins. One evening, after such a fervent exhortation, on 
his return home, a woman of the town ran after him, and 
exclaimed in fury: “Would to God you had never come 
among us! since you have been here you have only an¬ 
nounced calamities, and now you make us eat bread at 
seven grains the pound.” Then raising her hand in a 
menacing way, she added: “You have plenty of money, 
you, I say, to eat it at this price.” Alphonsus, far from 
being moved at these violent and undeserved reproaches, 
gave his blessing to the woman. The sacristan, who ac- 
companied him, began to scold her, and took her by the 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


257 


shoulder in order to force her to go away; Alphonsus was 
indignant at this and punished him for it, by four days’ im¬ 
prisonment. “ These unhappy people deserve compas¬ 
sion,” said he, “ it is not their heart, but famine, which 
makes them speak.” God, however, did not leave such a 
wicked act unpunished, and this woman, who had lived in 
ease before, was soon reduced to the lowest beggary. 

Poverty increased, particularly in Naples, to such a 
degree, that the scourge spared no one; the starving poor 
were seen, as Alphonsus had predicted, eating the grass 
of the hedges, and seeking in the country for the nourish¬ 
ment which beasts had refused to eat, so as even to feed 
on noxious herbs. On seeing thousands of these poor 
people going about the streets like spectres, Alphonsus 
was ready to die for sorrow. He confined himself to bread 
and broth, and one day said to his secretary and grand- 
vicar: “You see how the people are dying with hunger, 
it is necessary that we should do without something more; 
and so you must bear patiently yourself as well as others.” 
In consequence, his table was only supplied with broth and 
boiled meat, with which every one, without exception, had 
to be satisfied. He invoked also the superiors of all the 
convents of the diocese, and not only begged, but com¬ 
manded them, to contribute to the relief of the poor, by 
retrenching some part of their ordinary expenditures. He 
heard that the superior of a wealthy convent was very 
stingy towards the poor; he sent for him and reproached 
him for his hard-heartedness. “I am obliged,” replied the 
religious, “to maintain my family; I give what is over to 
the poor, and no more.” This answer pained our saint; 
he rose from his chair full of indignation, and said: 
“Do you know what maintain means? It signifies that 
it is necessary to eat enough to preserve life, and the 
surplus ought to be given to the poor. When you became 
a religious, you said that you wished to lead a life of 
poverty and penance. Do you believe in the Gospel, or 
are you a Turk ?” The religious changed his line of con¬ 
duct, and the poor of the place were quite differently 
22 * 


258 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


treated, from this time. He begged also the monasteries 
in Naples, and his penitents and relations, to bestow gifts 
on him for the sick. 

Thus Alphonsus acted like a true apostle of charity, 
during this calamity. He was delighted when he could 
assist the poor, and wept when he had nothing to give 
them. Every thing was open to them, and there was not 
a single room in the palace, where one did not see some 
poor person being comforted or snatched from the grasp of 
death. One evening, after all had been relieved, the Sec¬ 
retary, in going to bed, saw a man stretched on a bench in 
the hall, motionless and nearly expiring. Alphonsus, being 
informed of this, hastened hither, and at the sight of the 
unfortunate man was filled with sorrow; he sent for 
vinegar and other things to try and revive him; he ran to 
his room himself and took a piece of chocolate, which he 
succeeded with difficulty in placing in the mouth of the 
dying man. At length by dint of much pains, he had the 
happiness to see him come to his senses again, and his 
heart rejoiced at the sight of the poor man thus restored 
to life. 

As St. Agatha was not the only town which suffered 
from the famine, and as there was a dearth of bread 
throughout the diocese, all had recourse to him, and he 
had a helping hand for all. There was no place in the 
diocese which he did not aid with a quantity of corn and 
lentils, as well as with money. As bishop, he was lord of 
the fief ofBaynoli; the inhabitants of this domain also de¬ 
manded his assistance, and more than this, they used men¬ 
aces. He succeeded in procuring a great quantity of 
corn from Naples, secretly, and distributed bread to the 
poor of this estate every day. Thus the diocese of St. 
Agatha had much less to suffer than the other dioceses, for 
while, every where, bread was from ten to twelve grains the 
pound, at St. Agatha, it only cost six and a half. 

But however great was his solicitude, he could not 
satisfy the wants of all. On the 20th of February, 1764, 
the horrors of famine having become still more felt, the 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


259 


people rebelled, and chose as the victim of their blind re¬ 
sentment, the syndic Dominico Carvo, the superintendent 
of provisions at St. Agatha. The mutinous people, desir¬ 
ing to assassinate him, attacked him in his house, and 
broke down his door. The unfortunate man happily suc¬ 
ceeded in escaping, and took refuge in the episcopal 
palace. The mob having heard of this, hurried thither, and 
besieged the palace ; they penetrated into the interior, and 
sought for the syndic in order to murder him. Alphonsus, 
in alarm, appeared before the furious mob, and offered him¬ 
self as a victim to their anger; he ran into the midst of 
them, pressed them to his heart, and in tears endeavored 
to exculpate the syndic. “Life for life,” cried the multi¬ 
tude. Alphonsus, not knowing what more he could do to 
calm their fury, famine rendering them deaf to all his 
reasons, distributed to them all the meat and bread which 
he had kept for the most necessitous poor, as also all the 
bread and provisions of the seminary. This alarm had 
scarcely ended, when another sorrow succeeded. The 
court at Naples, being informed of the revolt, despatched 
sixty horsemen to St. Agatha, to prevent still more serious 
disturbances; which measure, far from intimidating the 
people, only served to exasperate them more. Alphonsus, 
considering this sad state of things, could neither eat nor 
sleep; he consulted, every moment, with the officers, in 
order to prevent the soldiers causing inconvenience to any 
one, while he at the same time negotiated at Naples for the 
recall of the military. He spoke to the most influential of 
the populace, to urge them to be peaceful; he procured 
new stores of corn and vegetables, and his active charity 
took no rest, until he saw the soldiers depart/and tran¬ 
quillity re-established. 

Assisted by divine light from on high, he often foresaw 
the misfortunes which would happen, even out of town, 
and was thus enabled to obviate them. At Arienzo in 
particular, he saved D. Ciro Lettieri, the first magistrate of 
this town, from a great disaster. The brother of Ciro was 
employed by Alphonsus to put the archives of the bishopric 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


in order. It was supposed he would have to be occupied 
in this, at least a fortnight. But eight days had scarcely 
elapsed, before Alphonsus suddenly sent for him one Sa¬ 
turday, and said: “I wish you to return to Arienzo this 
very evening, for your presence will be necessary there.” 
Greatly surprised at such a dismissal, he set out, little satis¬ 
fied with the bishop’s proceedings. On the Sunday morn¬ 
ing, being at Arienzo, he heard the sound of the tocsin, he 
went to the piazza, and found the people collected to¬ 
gether, and with arms in hand, proceeding tumultuously 
towards his brother’s house. He understood then what 
that necessity for his presence was, and he was just in 
time to save his brother, who but for him would have been 
killed. He got before the populace, and caused D. Ciro to 
take refuge in the monastery of the Fathers of St. Augustine, 
whence, clothed in a religious habit, he fled from the town 
and escaped from the seditious mob. The tribunal of Mon- 
tefusco, being informed of this tumult, commissioned an 
officer to seek for the principal rioters. Thirty fathers of 
families were denounced by the subordinates; they were 
innocent, but were all obliged to -appear at Montefusco. 
The governors of the town, out of consideration for the 
ruin of so many families, applied to their common father. 
At this news, Alphonsus was filled with grief, and wept 
over the possible consequences of this denunciation, and, 
without loss of time, represented to the president of the 
tribunal the innocence of the accused, and entreated him 
to stop the prosecution. His representations were so ef¬ 
ficacious, that the court granted all that he desired. 

As the spring of 1764 advanced, it brought with it new 
resources, which gradually put an end to the fearful scarcity, 
and the holy bishop was able to resume the course of his 
visitation. Many disorders had arisen during the famine ; 
some people had profited by the general misery to practice 
usury extensively; others tortured their debtors, and con¬ 
strained them ter subscribe to exaggerated claims. He in¬ 
veighed against these abuses, and used every means to 
remedy them. He sent for the merchants and moneyed men, 


LIFE OP ST. ALPHONSUS. 


261 

and enjoined them not to deviate from the rules of equity. 
After having thus contributed to the restoration of order at 
St. Agatha, and in the neighboring country, he especially 
enjoined on the parish priests the relief of many sick per¬ 
sons, convalescents, and the most necessitous families, and 
then set out to visit the other parts of the diocese; he was 
greeted in all parts with shouts of joy, which showed plainly 
the delight which the presence of their charitable bishop 
caused in the hearts of the faithful. 


CHAPTER XXII. 

Jllphonsus presides at a general Chapter of his Congregation. 
He defends his Moral Theology. He publishes Ordinances 
for the Regulation of his Diocese. He establish^0new 
Parishes . Becomes dangerously ill. He publishes his 
Book on the Truth of Faith. Circular to his Congregation. 

A BOUT this time, his Congregation had to assemble in a 
general chapter, and the saintly founder was begged 
to preside. He accepted the invitation, though he was then 
overcharged with business. He went, in consequence, to 
Nocera, towards the end of September. In passing by 
Nola, he stopped at the seminary, and, at the invitation of 
the Superior, gave an exhortation to the seminarists, which 
lasted more than an hour; he also saw Bishop Carracciolo, 
who, as well as our saint, was an enemy to those pompous 
titles which were adopted by certain bishops at that time. 
He related to Alphonsus, that, having been addressed in a 
letter from one of his colleagues by the title of Excellency, 
he had not returned the compliment. “You did very 
right,” replied Alphonsus, “I cannot understand what 
gave rise to this plaguing Excellency. The Council of 
Trent condescended to grant us the title of Right Reve¬ 
rend, and now they wish to introduce, Most Illustrious, If 


m 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


we had wished for Excellency, we could have staid at 
home.” When he entered the Church-to visit the Blessed 
Sacrament, he was given an arm-chair, which was used by 
the bishop; he refused it, and placed himself on a bench, 
saying, “This place befits D. Alphonsus;” wishing to say, 
that not being in his own diocese, he ought not to usurp 
any mark of distinction. 

The chapter lasted a month. The customs and rules 
already in vigor, were revised and confirmed. Every thing 
was done in the most satisfactory manner, thanks to his 
prudence and wisdom. The chapter was scarcely termi¬ 
nated when he set out again for St. Agatha, where he un¬ 
dertook to combat a new enemy. A distinguished Domini¬ 
can, F. Vincent Patuzzi, unceasingly criticised the Moral 
Theology of the saintly doctor. Alphonsus, after his return 
from Rome, had already published a long and learned dis¬ 
sertation, wherein all the most weighty authorities were 
brought forward in support of his system, and which was 
considered as a master-piece. Father Patuzzi, not being 
willing to give up the combat, had taken up arms again. 
Patuzzi’s work was but a libel, under the name of Adolphus 
Dositheus, entitled, “The cause of probabilism re-pro¬ 
duced after the examination of Bishop Liguori, and again 
convicted of falsity.” Alphonsus replied now in a learned 
and moderate address, in which he supported his doctrine by 
the authority of the canons, of the Holy Fathers, and of the 
most celebrated theologians, principally of St. Thomas. 
He dedicated his book to his Holiness, Clement XIII, with 
this declaration: “I protest that in all which I have written 
on this subject, I had no other intention than to make the 
truth clear in so grave a matter, on which depends the good 
or evil direction of consciences, and as I had the honor of 
dedicating my Moral Theology to the Sovereign Pontiff, 
Benedict XIV, some years ago, I venture to present and 
submit to your Holiness, this treatise, which is an appendix 
to the same Moral Theology, in order that you may deign 
to look over it, to correct, modify, and cancel all which may 
be opposed to the rules of Christian wisdom.” Alphonsus 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUSr 


263 


sent his apology to the bishops and archbishops, as well as 
to the other theological doctors, who all united with one 
voice in praising the author’s great learning, but not less, 
the great humility and moderation with which he defended 
his system, as is proved by many letters of approbation he 
received on the occasion, the greater portion of which are 
*"* quoted by Alphonsus himself at the end of his apology. 
Patuzzi, notwithstanding, sharpened his pen anew, and 
published another libel, which contained the same abuse as 
his former writings, only under another form. Alphonsus, 
without departing from his usual moderation, replied to 
him on the 16th of January, 1764: “I have received your 
well meant letter, wherein are mingled praises and coun¬ 
sels, admonitions, reproaches, and menaces.” Then, after 
having apologised for not being able to reply more at 
length, on account of the business of his diocese, he adds: 
“You tell me that you are astonished, that, while leading 
an edifying life, (you had better said that I deceive the 
public,) I, notwithstanding, profess an erroneous doctrine. 
My Father, I judge and see precisely the contrary; I see 
that my life is neither good nor exemplary, but full of faults, 
and on the contrary, I am sure that my system is very wise 
and certain.” He then continues to overthrow his adver¬ 
sary’s objections with admirable skill and learning, sup¬ 
porting his arguments principally by St. Thomas, and other 
learned writers. F. Patuzzi was conquered, but not con¬ 
vinced, and thus the controversy ended. 

When Alphonsus had made himself thoroughly ac¬ 
quainted with the state of his diocese, he informed the 
Pope that he thought he ought to assemble a synod, in 
order to remedy numerous abuses, and supported by the 
approbation of his Holiness, regulate many things which he 
judged necessary. The Pope heard this determination with 
pleasure, and to favor his undertaking, he granted, by a brief 
of the 21st of June, a plenary indulgence to all who, after 
havingconfessed, should communicate and visit the cathedral 
of St. Agatha, on the day of the opening of the synod, 
and also every year, on its anniversary. But Alphonsus 


264 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSES. 


consulting Bishop Borgia, of Aversa, about this matter, as 
well as F. Fatigati, the founder of the Congregation of the 
Holy Family, they both disapproved of the project, and their 
opinion was shared by several bishops who were friends of 
our saint. After reflecting on their reasons, he said: “I 
will accomplish what I wished to regulate in a synod, by 
simple decrees, and thus I shall not have to fear some un¬ 
quiet spirit preventing my obtaining the royal assent, at 
Naples.” He consulted then several times the most judi¬ 
cious members of his clergy, and thus the articles which 
he had prepared for the synodical assembly, were replaced 
by six ordinances, which he promulgated in due form, and 
caused to be rigorously observed throughout the diocese. 

The first referred to the canons, the priests of the ca¬ 
thedral, and the chaplains, concerning the rubrics, the 
ecclesiastical discipline of the choir, and the conditions of 
gaining the distributions, with divers regulations, concern¬ 
ing the divine service in the cathedral, and the meetings of 
the chapter. 

The second referred to the duties of the archpriests, 
vicars, and raptors, throughout the diocese. He renewed 
the order given after his first visitation, that the summary 
of the Christian doctrine, composed by himself, should be 
read twice to the people every Sunday and feast day : and 
ordered that every Sunday morning, the parish pyiests 
should give a detailed instruction on the truths of faith, 
especially to little children ; that the children should be 
made to know the meaning of the words their lips uttered; 
and that they should be taught the acts for holy commu¬ 
nion, several weeks before Easter, in order that they might 
understand well the importance of this sacrament, the 
benefits it procures, and the dispositions it requires; that 
they should be admitted to this sacrament when nine or 
ten, or at most, twelve years old. He ordered also, that 
all who wished to enter into matrimony, should be exam¬ 
ined on the most essential points of Christian doctrine, and 
this indispensably and without distinction of persons, ac¬ 
cording to the prescriptions of the Roman ritual, and the 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 265 

doctrine of.Pope Benedict XIV. In the same ordinance 
he set before the parochial clergy, their strict obligation to 
preach every Sunday, reminding them also, that accord¬ 
ing to the Council of Trent, preaching should be familiar 
and level to the people’s capacity. In order to prevent 
serious evils, and many sins, he obliged them to receive no 
promise of betrothal, without the certainty of a speedy 
marriage, and wished that parents should be repeatedly ad¬ 
vised not to receive young men into their houses, who might 
prove an occasion of scandal to their daughters, this being 
a reserved case. He also ordered, that no one should be 
admitted to Easter communion, without having been previ¬ 
ously examined by his parish priest, on the things necessary 
to salvation, and forbade confessors to administer this sa¬ 
crament to those who were not provided with a certificate 
of having been thus examined; that those who had not 
fulfilled the paschal duty, should be warned of the excom¬ 
munication they would incur, if they did not fulfil it in their 
parish church, and that if any one had not performed his 
duty, by Trinity Sunday, the incumbent should then report 
it to the bishop, without delay. For the young of both 
sexes, he ordered two general communions, the one on the 
Sunday after the Assumption, and the other at Christmas. 
This same ordinance reminded the parish priests, that ac¬ 
cording to the Roman catechism, they sinned grievously, if 
they did not administer extreme unction till the dying person 
had lost the use of his reason. Rectors and other priests 
were ordered to have a list in the sacristy, in which should 
be noted, the days, and the altars, at which the perpetual 
masses ought to be celebrated, and that, when a legacy was 
left in favor of the church, the payment should be required 
from the heirs in a month after the death of the testator, 
and that in case of refusal, recourse should be had to a 
competent judge, to compel them, or else the bishop should 
be informed; and besides, informing the bishop before ac¬ 
cepting any legacy, that a list of the foundations should be 
made every ten years, and a copy of it remitted to the 
heirs, and another deposited in the hands of the chapter. 
23 


260 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


This same ordinance concluded with several regulations 
concerning the reserved cases, the distribution of the holy 
oils, the mass to be said for the people on Sundays and 
feast days, the residence of the curates, &c. 

The third was addressed to all confessors, secular and 
regular. He reminded them of the necessity they lay under, 
to study moral theology, and ordered them to join 
some Congregation for discussing cases of conscience. 
He wished them to ask parents, whether they sent their 
children to be catechised, this being a reserved case, and 
especially, minutely to interrogate those who confessed 
seldom, or, whose consciences were not known to them. 
He told them to refuse absolution to backsliding, and ha¬ 
bitual sinners, except they gave extraordinary signs of con¬ 
trition, and to those in occasion of sin, before they had 
quitted the occasion. He inculcated on them the duty of 
reminding physicians of the striet obligation which the bull 
of Pius V, imposes on them, of ordering the sacraments to 
be administered to those of their patients whom they found, 
after the third visit, to be in danger, or likely to become so. 
He condemned the facility with which many confessors 
granted absolution to venial sins, without being certain that 
the penitents repented of them, and were resolved to amend. 
He advised confessors to exhort their penitents to frequent 
prayer, and to urge them to invoke the sacred names of 
Jesus and Mary, unceasingly, when in temptation, and 
above all, to recommend to them, devotion to the Blessed 
Virgin, the recitation of the Rosary, as well as three Aves, 
morning and evening, in honor of the Mother of purity and 
perseverance, and to teach briefly, the exercise of mental 
prayer to those whom they saw most disposed to piety. 

The fourth renewed the pain of suspension, ipso facto, 
for all those who should finish mass in less than a quarter 
of an hour, and contained several other regulations re¬ 
garding the holy sacrifice. He reminded besides, all eccle¬ 
siastics, of the suspension, ipso facto, to be incurred by 
amusing themselves at games of chance, or any other 
game in public. He equally forbade hunting with a gun, 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


267 


or with nets, without the written permission of the bishop, 
&c., and lastly, exhorted all the clerics to second their 
parish priests in the instruction on Christian doctrine. 

The sixth, (we shall speak of the fifth hereafter,) provided 
that which was becoming, in regard to clerical dress and 
tonsure. These were the principal regulations Alphonsus 
felt it necessary to make, for the good of his clergy and 
# diocese. He confessed that, in consequence of the cir¬ 
cumstances of the times, he had not acted after the rigor of 
the ancient canons, but he also declared, that in proportion 
to this indulgence, would be his severity towards trans¬ 
gressors. “ Any kind of contempt for myself, does not 
affect me at all,” said he, “on the contrary, I thank God 
for it; but I cannot suffer any disregard for my ordi¬ 
nances.” He was therefore very attentive in watching to 
see that they were kept, and not satisfied with the reports 
which were addressed to him by the rural vicars, who were 
especially bound to attend to what was going on in the 
different parts of the diocese, he commissioned certain per¬ 
sons, to inform him privately, of all kinds of infraction of 
these ordinances, and when he saw that the offences were 
in consequence of contempt of his wishes, he acted with 
severity, and more than one ecclesiastic suffered an exem¬ 
plary punishment in consequence. One was deprived of 
the revenues of his parish; another for having twice failed 
to be present at the meetings of the discussion of moral 
cases, was sent for by the bishop, who reprimanded him 
with severity. 

One of the greatest evils which Alphonsus had remarked 
during his pastoral visitation, was the spiritual abandon¬ 
ment, in which thousands of souls were to be found, who 
were dispersed through the country, and above all, in the 
neighborhood of St. Agatha. The population of this town 
and its environs, amounted to more than twenty-four thou¬ 
sand inhabitants, who were scattered about in a number of 
villao-es, hamlets, and farm-houses. In the suburbs and 
villages, there were not less than two hundred families, who 
comprised altogether, more than thirteen hundred souls, 


268 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


and formed, what was called, the parish of St. Thomas, 
divided into several sections, some of which were four or 
five miles from the church. This occasioned serious incon¬ 
veniences, for while the heat of summer caused the access 
to the church to be very painful, winter rendered it nearly 
impossible; the old and very young, never saw their parish 
priest. There was no catechising for the young, nor in¬ 
struction for the adults, and what is worse, nearly all the 
sick were deprived of the viaticum, and extreme unction. 
The vigilant bishop, grieving over such a deplorable state 
of things, determined to divide the parish of St. Thomas, 
and to form three others, which should be supported by 
some benefices of free gift, which till then, had only been 
conferred on clerics, attached to the bishop, or on strangers. 
The execution of this project was far from being an easy 
matter, but our saint’s zeal and constancy triumphed over 
all obstacles, and three parishes were established in three 
ancient churches, at convenient distances. 

At Cancello, a place within three miles from Arienzo, 
there were dispersed about in various estates, a great 
number of families, dependant on the parish of St. Felix 
of Arienzo, which being four miles distant, at the least, the 
inhabitants for the most part, died without any religious aid. 
Alphonsus resolved to make a parochial chapel of the one 
to be found there, but finding opposition, he contented 
himself with establishing there a chaplain, to say mass on 
Sundays and festivals, for which, the Duke of Maddalon, 
who possessed large farms on this domain, gave him yearly 
twelve ducats, to which Alphonsus added six more, out of 
his own income, in order to induce him to consent to 
preach, and teach the catechism to the children. He pre¬ 
sented to the church, a beautiful missal, and other books, 
for the celebration of the offices, and promised the priest 
not to forget him, when a vacancy should occur in the 
livings. He made the same, or similar arrangements in 
many other parts of the diocese, so that the word of God 
was announced in many rural chapels which were distant 
from the parish churches, he himself supplying what was 


LIFE OP ST. ALPHONSUS. 


269 


necessary for the maintenance of these chaplains. Other 
churches, where the revenues were inadequate, were by 
his care endowed with rentals and benefices, taken from 
those which were superabundantly provided. By these 
means he attracted a number of meritorious priests, who, 
till then, had been kept at a distance, through fear and 
distress. 

Alphonsus, exhausted with austerity and fatigue, became 
ill, at the close of the year 1764. The fever made such pro¬ 
gress, that his life was soon despaired of, and they hastened 
to administer to him the viaticum, and extreme unction. 
It was an affecting sight, to see the bishop of St. Agatha, 
lie on a bed of straw, between two sheets of coarse cloth, 
and covered with all the emblems of poverty, with a dying 
voice, asking the two clergymen who assisted him, to 
suggest some sentiments of love to him. One of them 
tried to suggest some holy thoughts, but tears stifled his 
voice, and he could not utter a single word. “My lord,” 
said then the other, “ When St. Marlin was near death, he 
addressed the following prayer to God: * Lord, if I am still 
necessary to thy people, I refuse not to work;’” and Al¬ 
phonsus, who could scarcely move his lips, immediately 
repeated, “ Non recuso laborem,” “ I refuse not to work.” 
No children ever wept more bitterly, at the death bed of a 
father, than the inhabitants of St. Agatha did, at the pros¬ 
pect of so soon losing their bishop. Public prayers were 
had in every place, throughout the diocese, and several re¬ 
ligious communities at Naples, offered up Novenas, and 
other prayers, in order that the Lord would deign to preserve 
the pastor to his diocese, or rather to the whole Church. 

As the invalid’s danger had been seen from the first, they 
proposed to him to send for a physician, to Naples, but he 
would not hear of it, saying that his life was not worth so 
much trouble, and that he ought to employ the physicians 
of St. Agatha, since God had given them to him. Never¬ 
theless, his brother Hercules was no sooner informed of his 
state, than he came to see him, accompanied by two of the 
first doctors of the capital. He escaped from death at 
23* 


270 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


Iasi, but it may truly be said, that his recovery was a re¬ 
compense for the tears of the poor, and it was plainly seen, 
that the Lord wished, for the salvation of his flock, to pre¬ 
serve his life, of which they had still the greatest need. 
God also manifested his servant’s sanctity, during his illness, 
by a miracle. One day, while he was still in bed, he re¬ 
ceived a visit from a canon, who brought him some fig- 
peckers, which he had shot. He was accompanied by his 
nephew, who, although four years old, could not say a 
single word. Alphonsus asked the canon what was his 
nephew’s name ; the uncle replied, that the child was called 
Thomas, but could not yet speak, and that they believed 
he would continue to be dumb. Alphonsus immediately 
made the sign of the cross on the child’s forehead, and 
taking a picture of our Lady of Power, gave it to Thomas, 
to kiss, and asked him what this Lady was called. The 
child kissed the picture, and his tongue being unloosed 
at the moment, he replied, “The Madonna.” Alphonsus 
turned to the canon, and to conceal the miracle, said to 
him: “This child is not dumb ; it is true that there is an 
impediment in his speech, but you will see that it will 
gradually disappear.” From that time, the child had the 
use of speech, in fact, he articulated every sound perfectly, 
and asked for all he wanted. 

The doctors foreseeing the tediousness of his recovery, 
and fearing that, if he were not entirely set up before the 
autumn, he would languish all the winter, advised him to 
go to breathe the salubrious air of Nocera. This proposi¬ 
tion alarmed him. “I cannot go far from my residence,” 
said he, “let us place ourselves in the hands of the Lord, 
and he will do the rest.” It required a command from 
F. Villani, then present at St. Agatha, to cause him to 
consent to go. From the time that he was among his Con¬ 
gregation again, he never failed, even though not well, to 
follow all the exercises of the community; he resumed his 
scientific occupations at the same time, not allowing him¬ 
self a moment’s relaxation. Being asked one day, by a 
priest, to play the harpsichord, he replied: “What will be 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHOttSUS.- 


271 


said, if I pass my time at an idle instrument, in place of em¬ 
ploying it in thinking of my diocese. My duty, and that of 
every bishop, is to give audience to all, to pray, to study, 
and never to play the harpsichord.” He preached again, 
each Saturday, in honor of the Blessed Virgin, and from 
time to time was called on to give familiar instructions to 
nuns in their convents. The Rector caused him to be 
treated with some distinction, with regard to food, because 
of his indisposition ; these attentions were a martyrdom to 
him, he wished no distinction to be made between himself 
and the rest of the community. 

He ate in an upper room, and this was the occasion of a 
heroic act of mortification for him. As he drank no wine, 
he once asked for a glass of water, and the brother who 
was waiting on him, saw a vase, which was full of it, and 
presented it to him; Alphonsus took it and drank, but a 
Father who was beside him, smelt a bad odor, and saw that 
the vase was filled with corrupted water, which had been 
used for keeping flowers in, a few days before. Alphonsus 
did not show the least displeasure, or say a word to find 
fault with one who had waited on him so badly. Here also, 
God favored him with special graces. Once, when he was 
saying mass in the domestic chapel of the Mother of Sor¬ 
rows, and had come to the psalm, “Judica me Deus,” he cast 
his eyes on the Image, and suddenly broke off and stopped 
in the middle of the verse he had commenced. The Father 
who served his mass, thinking he was distracted, wished to 
recall him to the place again, and said the end of the verse 
a second and a third time, but Alphonsus did not say'a 
word, he was in ecstasy. It was not till the Father had 
shaken him several times, that he continued the psalm. 

Though far from St. Agatha, the holy bishop had the 
wants of his diocese before him every instant; and as he 
wished to be informed of every thing, couriers arrived at 
Nocera constantly, from his Grand-Vicar, the parish priests, 
and others. One day he received as many as eight, to all 
of whom he gave an answer, so that one matter was hardly 
ended, when he began another. 


m 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHON8US. 


He had been barely a month at Nocera, when he heard 
that a person, who, for her disorderly conduct, had been 
sent out of the diocese, was endeavoring to re-enter it. 
This news tormented him so much, that without regard for 
his health, he hastened his return, the prayers of the Fa¬ 
thers, and of his friends, being unable to retain him. “ God 
wills,” said he, “that I should be at St. Agatha, and not at 
Nocera, I have overwhelming scruples already.” As he 
had suffered a good deal during the preceding winter, from 
coughs and affections of the chest, the doctors advised him 
to reside at Arienzo, as it had a better climate; he yielded, 
but not without having consulted F. Villani, as he had 
scruples at leaving St. Agatha, where he had his cathedral, 
his chapter, and what was of more consequence to him, 
his seminary. “I wish to have your opinion,” he wrote 
to him, “to take away my fears.” F. Villani, as well as 
bishops Borgia and Volpi, and others whom he had con¬ 
sulted, also wished him to banish every scruple, and go to 
Arienzo. 

When his health was re-established, he recommenced his 
visitation. F. Villani forbade him to make use of his straw 
bed during the visitation, in consideration of his age and 
infirmities, and the numerous maladies which had ex¬ 
hausted his strength. Alphonsus obeyed, but this submis¬ 
sion cost him a great deal when he had no fever, for then 
he thought, that he enjoyed too good health; and he was 
scarcely recovered, when he recommenced his penances 
and macerations, but not without the sanction of his direc¬ 
tor, so he wrote to F. Villani, on the 28th October: “I 
have not slept on straw again, but the milk diet has quite 
restored me, and so if you will permit it, I wish to resume 
the straw bed. .... I have begun to wear the chains on 
the part where the old blisters” (new ones had been ap¬ 
plied) “have been taken away. I beg for your blessing.” 
And in another letter: “I have only taken boiled meat at 
dinner, till now, leaving the first dish untouched; but as I 
am obliged to eat only once a day, I have consulted F. Ma- 
jone, and he has told me to take a second dish. In case 



LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


273 


the boiled meat is sufficient, I wish to ask your Reverence, 
as my principal director, to allow me to eat the bouilli only. 
If you do not approve of my request, I will submit to your 
decision.” 

Alphonsus’ mind was agitated by painful anxieties, at 
this time. Every day he heard of the great number of evil 
books, which spread their contagious influence in Europe, 
and particularly in France, and were clandestinely intro¬ 
duced into Italy by the librarians, who spread them in the 
provinces. He was constantly protesting against these 
works at the court, and entreated the Marquises of Marco, 
and Tanucci, to forbid the importation and sale of them. 
He enforced on confessors, and preachers, the duty of in¬ 
spiring a horror of such reading, and especially commanded 
this to be done, by his missionaries, and those who went 
through the provinces. Basnage’s abominable book, af¬ 
flicted him very much. He would have liked to enter the 
lists against this dangerous writer, but being prevented from 
so doing, he manifested to F. de Meo, his desire to see him 
abor, to refute his errors, at least, as to matters of religion. 
He was again attacked on account of his Moral Theology, 
by Fathers Patuzzi, and Gonzales. “Let them do as they 
please,” he replied on the 7th of January, 1766, to F. 
Sapio, of the Oratory, who had apprised him of it, “I did 
not write to.gain honor, but only to make truth known. If 
what I have written is convincing, it is well; if otherwise, 
I do not wish to be victorious by obstinacy .... I re¬ 
gret, that the learned have a prejudice, that he who does 
not write to defend tutiorism, so in fashion in our days, is 
not well informed. The ultramontane party has spread in 
many Catholic countries, it triumphs, and souls go to their 
ruin. Let us pray to God to put a stop to this. A book 
has been published, entitled, ‘The Realization of the pro¬ 
ject of Boury-Fontaine,’ which shows the Jansenists’ in¬ 
tention of overthrowing the Church. This book is im¬ 
portant, your Reverence must procure and read it.” He 
also was transported with zeal, against the sect of the Free¬ 
masons. “ This sect,” he said, with tears in his eyes, 


274 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUSj 


“ will cause evil, not only to the Church, but also to king¬ 
doms and sovereigns. Kings do not attend to them, but 
they will recognise their fatal negligence, when too late. 
Free-masons act against God at present, and they will soon 
attack kings.” Besides addressing a great number of letters 
to the members of the regency, established at Naples after 
King Charles III, had quitted that town, he also wrote to 
Cardinal Sersale, to engage him to use all his influence, 
in order to free Naples, and the provinces, from this abomi¬ 
nable sect. He composed his great work, on The Truth of 
Faith, at this time, against the unbelievers of modern times. 
And as the infallibility of the Pope was then also attacked, 
and questioned, particularly by the defenders of the decla¬ 
ration of the Assembly, in Paris, in 1682, he undertook to 
refute them, in a treatise, which he published, under the 
title of “Reflections on the declaration of the Assembly of 
Paris, on the subject of the infallibility of the Sovereign 
Pontiff.” 

Another thing caused him much sorrow, and that was 
the storm raised up throughout Europe, against the Jesuits. 
He wrote to the F. Provincial de Mattei, as follows: “I 
have not received any tidings about the affairs of your so¬ 
ciety: I feel almost as much uneasiness, as if it related to 
our Congregation. A society is menaced, which one may 
say, has sanctified the world, and which continues, unceas¬ 
ingly, to sanctify it.” “The Jansenists, and all innova¬ 
tors,” he said, on another accasion, “would like to anni¬ 
hilate it, in order to overthrow the bulwark of the Church 
of God. Against such enemies, where shall we find 
vigorous champions, such as those which the company of 
Jesus alone can train up?” When Pope Clement XIII, 
issued a bull, by which he confirmed the company anew, 
Alphonsus was full of joy, and felt that he must write to the 
Sovereign Pontiff, to thank him, which he did, in a letter, 
dated the 19th of June, 1765, to which the Pope answered 
most affectionately. 

Amidst these labors and anxieties, he did not forget his 
own little Congregation. He wrote a circular, dated 


L1PE OP ST. ALPHONSUS. 


m 


the 27th of August, in order to stir up a daily increasing 
fervor, from his great wish to see it become more and more 
perfect. He cherished this work as the apple of his eye, 
and the smallest spot which he observed in it, afflicted him 
deeply, and always appeared to him considerable. “ I per¬ 
ceive with sorrow,” said he, in the exaggeration of his feel¬ 
ings, “ that fervor is much decayed amongst the subjects of 
the Congregation, and I beg each of you to watch over 
himself attentively for the time to come, because I cannot 
suffer any relaxation in the rule during my life. I am told 
that there is very little inclination for poverty and mortifi¬ 
cation. Ah ! have we then entered the Congregation to 
enjoy our ease, and to exclaim against pain ? . . . I hear 
also, that obedience to Superiors is lessened ; if obedience 

ceases, the Congregation will not survive it.I have 

told the F. Vicar-General, D. Andrew Villani, to punish 
public faults by public mortifications, and to expel such as 
shall,show themselves to be incorrigible. The Congrega¬ 
tion has no need of subjects: it only seeks for those who 
wish to become saints. It is enough for it, if ten remain, 
who truly love God. It is being too ungrateful towards 
God, to repay him, for the love with which he protects the 
Congregation, by failings and neglects. Do we wish to 
become like so many others, who cause the-Church scan¬ 
dal, rather than, edification ? I have told F. Villani, that 
his government is too weak and mild, and that, for the 
future, I wish to be better informed of all that occurs of an 
important nature.Above all, it is necessary to mor¬ 

tify ourselves and to please God, otherwise God will not 
aid us, and we shall preach in vain. I bless you all, I 
mean, all those who are well-intentioned; if there are 
others, I do not curse them, but God will curse them, and 
will expel them from the Congregation.” 




276 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


CHAPTER XXIII. 

Alphonsus seeks to resign the Episcopate. He establishes at 
St. Agatha a Convent of JVuns. His great Solicitude in 
conferring Holy Orders , in giving Jurisdiction to Confes¬ 
sors , and in choosing Subjects for Parishes and Benefices. 

A LREADY, in the year 1764, Alphonsus had thought of 
resigning the burthen of the episcopate, as he had 
been told, when he was nominated bishop, that circum¬ 
stances required he should accept, and that he could re¬ 
nounce it afterwards; the Pope had then answered him 
that he must not think of quitting his diocese, but that ill 
and infirm as he was, he should govern it. But his infirm¬ 
ities increasing daily, he thought of it again this year, and 
asked the opinion of several enlightened persons, in order 
to be sure of the will of God in regard to it. Amongst 
others, he consulted Mgr. Borgia. This prelate approved 
of his resolution, but his reasons did not satisfy Alphon¬ 
sus, nor give rest to his conscience. He wrote to F. Vil- 
lani on the 14th of January, 1765, “ . . .At present I beg 
you again to speak before your departure to D. Janvier 
Fatigati, and to the Fathers Alasio, Porcara, and de Mat- 
teis. The principal reason for my resignation must not be 
the desire for retirement, as Mgr. Borgia says, for this 
cause is rejected in the chap. Nisi de Renuntiat, but it 
ought to be, my advanced age, for I shall enter my 70th 
year in September, and besides my usual affection of the 
chest, I was almost constantly ill during the winter, last 
year; this year, I may say, I have been so even till now. 
I have been confined to bed, with asthma, for upwards of 
a month. It is true, (for J must tell all, to prevent scru¬ 
ples,) that I continue to attend to business, and that every 
thing is done as usual; but as long.as winter lasts, I am un¬ 
able to go about on visitation, or to assist in the choir. In 
summer, as I am then free from my malady of the chest, I 
go through my diocese, during three or four months. I 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


277 


feel forced to ask for iny dismissal, for I have a host of 
scruples, at seeing the dissatisfaction that arises from scan¬ 
dals of which I am a witness, and which I ought not to 
tolerate. I tremble most from the fear, that I have sought 
for my own ease in this resignation, and not God’s glory: 
this is why I wish to be sure as to what will really conduce 
to the glory of God.” In another letter he said : “ I wish that 
my conscience should be free from a load of disquietudes; 
I meet with many things to disgust me, but I hear it said 
to me, ‘ Si diligis me, pasce oves meets,’ and it matters little, 
whether I die or succumb. The uncertainty I am in, not 
knowing whether I am doing the will of God or not, in giving 
in my resignation, is a greater anxiety to me than all the rest.” 

Having taken all these opinions, (Fathers Alasio and 
Poscara having coincided with Mgr. Borgia,) he resolved, 
at last, to represent his age and infirmities to the Pope in 
a simple manner, to propose his resignation, and to leave 
the decision with his Holiness. The Pope was entirely 
opposed to the holy bishop’s wishes, and Cardinal Negroni 
answered him, in a letter of the 18th of June, 1765 :“.... 
The Holy Father thanks God for the great good which you 
have effected by His aid until now, and he is persuaded 
that you can continue this good by your authority, your 
direction, and your example, even should your malady 
become still more serious, and should your physical weak¬ 
ness become still greater.His Holiness charges me 

then, to reply to you, and to encourage you, in his name, 
to cast aside every scruple on this subject, to be in perfect 
tranquillity of mind, and to persevere in your vocation, 
which is most certain, laboring for the good of the souls 
which are entrusted to you, and for the glory of God, who 
will assuredly grant you all needful succor.” 

At the request of the saintly old man, Cardinals Spinelli 
and Rossi, and Mgr. de Simone, who was Auditor, had 
supported his request to the Pope, but he answered: “His 
shadow alone would suffice to govern the whole diocese.” 
Alphonsus did become tranquil, and was content, even if 
he had to die under the burthen. In the midst of all these 
24 



278 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


anxieties, quite a mysterious circumstance happened to 
him. From the 1st of June, 1765, he, as well as those 
who were near him, heard a great number of little blows 
from the cross he wore at his neck, every time he said 
the Rosary. They examined to see whether there was 
some insect there, and made other searches, but they could 
discover nothing. As soon as he had received the answer 
of the Pope, the little blows were heard no more. He 
concluded that there had been a mystery therein, and that 
God had wished him to understand that he ought to con^ 
tinue to bear the cross with which he had been charged. 

At this time Alphonsus succeeded in establishing at St. 
Agatha, a convent of the nuns of the Most Holy Redeemer. 
The want of such an institution, wherein young ladies of 
high family could receive their education, or consecrate 
themselves to God, was regretted, but no one had yet been 
able to supply it. The work had been attempted several 
times during two centuries, but all the plans had remained 
imperfect. Alphonsus took it in hand and succeeded 
gloriously. All the other obstacles having been removed, 
one still remained ; there was no sufficient revenue. Al¬ 
phonsus fortified himself by trust in God, and managed so 
well that be obtained from the Pope an annual subsidy of 
ninety-seven ducats, on the ecclesiastical chapels, and a 
rent of twenty-five ducats from the King, on the lay 
chapels. The town granted fifty ducats annually for ten 
years, which being added to the four hundred and twenty- 
two which the church he had chosen for this establishment 
already possessed, formed an income of six hundred and 
ninety-four ducats, which, together with the portions, was 
sufficient for the support of the convent. He caused the 
buildings to be repaired; it was an old convent, built a 
century and a half before, but now abandoned, and des¬ 
tined to lodge the soldiers who might come to St. Agatha; 
he went to the spot nearly every day to encourage the 
workmen and hasten the work, saying : “ Who knows how 
much longer I may have to live.” He arranged that the 
religious from the convent at Scala should come there as 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


279 


foundresses, and the Pope permitted him to instal them in 
the new cloister, in the month of June, 1765. Sister Mary 
Raphael of Charity, whose sanctity was well known, was 
chosen to preside over the beginning of this convent; she 
was accompanied by two other choir-sisters and one lay- 
sister. Mother Raphael had the consolation of receiving 
two recruits on the road, the daughters of the family of 
Speltri de Vitulano. 

Alphonsus, filled with joy at the arrival of the religious, 
persuaded the people to adorn the gates of the town with 
magnificence and to ornament the streets with wreaths of 
myrtle, rosemary, and boughs of trees. He advanced, in 
his pontifical vestments, at the head of the chapter and of 
all the clergy, to meet them at the cathedral door, while 
the firing of cannon and the ringing of the bells testified 
the joy of the inhabitants. After having adored the Blessed 
Sacrament, they went in procession to the new church of 
the convent, where the Blessed Sacrament was exposed and 
the Te Deum solemnly chanted, during which the foun¬ 
dresses took possession ofthe convent. Alphonsus had taken 
care to provide every thing which was wanted for the 
nuns. He sent eatables, already prepared, to the new¬ 
comers, for the first eight days. He wished to continue to 
do so for a month, but the nuns dispensed him from it, 
wishing to live in the poverty prescribed by their rule. 
When the new foundation made under the auspices of 
Bishop Liguori became known in the province, as well as 
the great regularity which existed there, and, above all, the 
holiness of its foundresses, the convent was soon filled with 
pupils from St. Agatha, Arienzo, and Naples. 

Soon, two pupils determined to take the novices’ habit, 
with the two recruits mentioned above, and Alphonsus 
gave them the exercises of the retreat. One of them began 
to be tormented by melancholy in such a degree, that full 
of regrets, she unceasingly wept and sighed for her father’s 
house. One evening, after the meditation, Alphonsus 
called her to the grate, encouraged her, and succeeded in 
restoring her serenity; he then gave her a crucifix to kiss, 


280 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


and made her promise to take Jesus Christ for her spouse; 
the young lady immediately experienced a complete change, 
she returned gaily to the noviciate, and from that time was 
freed from all thoughts of regret. He did not exercise the 
same compassion towards another pupil: “We must dis¬ 
tinguish,” he said, “ between temptation and obstinacy.” 
The one of whom we speak, repented of the step she had 
taken, and lived in a manner little edifying, thus doing harm 
to herself as well as to others; though she was archdeacon 
Rainone’s neice, Alphonsus silenced all human respect, 
and sent her back to her parents. 

The two young pupils who had joined the religious on 
the road, were the objects of his peculiar kindness. These 
young ladies’ two brothers were dissatisfied with the part 
they had taken, and for several years refused to pay their 
pension. His Lordship, aware of the distress they felt, 
paid it for them, and amongst other things, supplied thirty 
measures of corn to the convent: the brothers gave up 
their opposition, in the end, and they received their portion, 
and made their profession. Alphonsus, considering this 
convent as his own work, continued to assist it as far as 
possible, although he was himself in great poverty. He 
gave fifty measures of corn to it yearly, and also a great 
quantity of oil. He even went so.far as to promise, that 
he would maintain the four foundresses, as long as he lived. 
He very often made them a present of from ten to thirty 
ducats. He sent them their allowance weekly, whilst he 
lived at St. Agatha, and let them have it at least monthly, 
even when he resided at Arienzo. He sent them various 
little treats on feast days; and when he received any pre¬ 
sents from his relations in religion, or others, he bestowed 
the greatest part on the pensioners and novices. 

The most formidable responsibility of the episcopacy, to 
our saint, was, the imposition of hands. He required 
learning and virtue from the young Levites. In one of the 
regulations that he made for the good administration of his 
diocese, he determined on the points on which the young 
clerics ought to be examined. Those who received the 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


281 


tonsure, were obliged to give an account of Christian doc¬ 
trine, and to specify the different parts of meditation which 
are necessary to reap fruit from it. Those for minor or¬ 
ders, had to know the matter and form of orders, all that 
appertains to the sacraments, and the Latin grammar. 
Those for the subdiaconate, had to know the treatises on 
oaths, vows, canonical hours, censures, as well as on what 
belongs to orders. Those for the diaconate, the treatises 
on conscience, laws, human acts and sins, as also the trea¬ 
tises on the theological virtues, on religion and its opposite 
vices, and on simony. Those for the priesthood, had to 
repeat, besides the things which relate to this holy order, 
that which they had already known before, and to know the 
treatises on the eucharist, the sacrifice of mass, on pe¬ 
nance, extreme unction, and marriage, with all that belongs 
to the commandments of God, and of the Church. 

He presided over the examinations in person, and caused 
all the examiners to assist thereat, as also the other candi¬ 
dates to be present, both to instruct them, and also to show 
them that there was no partiality, for he always acted as a 
father, rather than as a superior, speaking to them with so 
much kindness, that, far from disconcerting them, his pre¬ 
sence inspired them with courage. When he reprimanded, 
he always did it in a way to encourage the subjects to study, 
and promised that he would not delay in comforting them. 
The dean told him, that he ought at least to make them 
stand, during the interrogatories. Alphonsus replied : “I 
am a father, let us not forget what it is to be examined.” 
A deacon, who had been sent away several times, present¬ 
ed himself at the examination again, but, in spite of the 
efforts made by one of the examiners, to cause him to pass, 
by suggesting the answers, he could not succeed. “My 
son,” said Alphonsus to him, “I can do nothing more in 
this, study well, and with application, and I will ordain 
you by-and-by.” This cleric was the nephew of a priest, 
whom he esteemed greatly. He came to see him, and Al¬ 
phonsus let him see how much he was distressed. “For¬ 
give me,” he said, “for I am myself distressed about your 
24* 


m 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


nephew ; forgive me for the love of God. for my conscience 
does not reproach me at all. Ask canon Wichella, with 
what charity we treated him.” Another time, a young 
man of excellent conduct, was attacked by a pain in the 
chest, which prevented him from learning the treatise, “de 
censuris.” When he presented himself for examination 
for the priesthood, he was found wanting. “The rules are 
made to be observed,” said Alphonsus to him, “ not 
merely to be posted up in the sacristy.” But when the 
parish priest, whose pupil the young man had been, as¬ 
sured him that he was well acquainted with the other mat¬ 
ters of examination, his lordship listened to him, and finding 
that this was really the case, he made no further difficulty 
in admitting him. 

Of all the orders, the subdiaconate, as being the first of 
the major orders, was the one which caused most embar¬ 
rassment to the young men, as well as to Alphonsus him¬ 
self. One priest has affirmed, that he was kept sitting 
during five hours, at an examination for the subdiaconate. 
The seminarists themselves, who had already given proofs 
of their capacity, in examinations undergone in the semi¬ 
nary, in his presence, were still obliged to go through the 
usual examination before entering into holy orders. If 
one of these latter were found wanting, and wished to 
trust to the indulgence of the examiners, imagining that 
his attending the course of lectures would supply the place 
of the rest, Alphonsus immediately overthrew his hopes. 
“ I wish,” said he, “ the thing done , and not the thing to be 
done , and in this matter I know of no future tense in my 
grammar, I know only of the past tense.” 

From the time of his arrival in the diocese, he had de¬ 
clared, by an edict, that no one need hope to obtain orders 
or benefices through influence, and that to manifest such 
a disposition, would be sufficient cause for being excluded, 
and declared unworthy. The real qualities of the candi¬ 
date, and the testimony of respectable persons, were the 
only claims which prevailed; if these were wanting, the 
case was desperate. A gentleman tried to make him or- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


233 


dain a subject whom he loved, believing Alphonsus would 
be satisfied with his testimony, and attempted to persuade 
him with many plausible reasons, on which he enlarged for 
an hour. Alphonsus listened to him with immoveable pa¬ 
tience; at last, when the gentleman had exhausted the 
matter, and thought he had gained his cause, Alphonsus 
asked him if he had said all. “ I think,” replied the gen¬ 
tleman, “ that I have wearied you long enough.” “ Well, 
that may be,” answered Alphonsus, smilingly, “but ima¬ 
gine that you have spoken to a dead man.” “What do 
you mean by that?” replied the gentleman. “A dead 
person,” answered Alphonsus, “could not reply to you. 
Well, no more can I.” Alphonsus had a serious reason 
for rejecting the candidate, and therefore endeavored to 
extricate himself in this manner. 

The Prince della Riccia, also tried to induce him to 
admit one of his tenants to the subdiaconate, whom he had 
previously rejected. “My most honored Prince,” he an¬ 
swered him, “I beg you to pardon me for not doing your 
pleasure, because in conscience I cannot do it. It is a 
thing which could not be done, without injury to my soul, 
and I was not made a bishop in order to damn myself.” 
The prince was edified by this proof of zeal and apostol¬ 
ical firmness, and promised not to disquiet the tenderness 
of his conscience by similar requests again. 

Those candidates for holy orders, who presented them- 
elves with dismissory letters from their bishops, were also 
obliged to give proofs of their learning, in order to be ad¬ 
mitted to ordination. A young man having been sent by 
the bishop of Caserte, Alphonsus did not admit him with¬ 
out making him undergo an examination. The bishop, in 
retaliation, caused a cleric, whom Alphonsus had sent to 
him when he himself was ill, to be examined also. This 
caused dissatisfaction at St. Agatha, but Alphonsus said: 
“If he has acted so, he has done his duty.” The regulars 
were obliged to pass through the same ordeal, in spite of 
the dismissory letters of their provincials. In order to make 
the thing agreeable to them, he sent for two fathers be- 


284 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


longing to their order, and caused them to examine them 
in his presence; but if there was no monastery of the 
order in the neighborhood, he examined them himself, as¬ 
sisted by his grand-vicar, and a canon. Once, when he 
was administering holy orders, at the moment he was going 
to officiate, the master of ceremonies told hipa that a young 
religious had just arrived. “That is very well,” replied Al- 
phonsus, “but he must be examined.” He sent for him, 
and told him that he was going to question him; the young 
man replied, that he had already been examined by his 
provincial. “ I am quite persuaded of that,” said Alphon- 
sus to him, “but it is I who must impose hands on you, 
and not the Father Provincial;” and as he was firm in ex¬ 
acting the examination, the young religious thought he had 
better not expose himself to it, so he took off his surplice, 
and departed. 

Alphonsus wished the candidates to present certificates 
of good conduct, at least a month before the ordination, 
and all at the same time, in order to have facility in making 
his secret investigations in case of need. In order that the 
parish priests should only give sincere testimonials, he re¬ 
presented the duty of so doing, very strongly to them. He 
was not contented with a simple attestation, but wished 
they should testify, on oath, that the candidate had not 
failed to assist at church, on any Sunday, or day of obliga¬ 
tion; that he had assembled the little children, and taught 
them the catechism; that he had confessed, and communi¬ 
cated, at least, every fortnight; that he had not been seen 
without a cassock ; that he had never played at cards ; and 
that he had never engaged in any kind of sport. He was 
especially severe towards young men who had studied at 
Naples. He used every method to be sure of their merits, 
and never seemed satisfied ; he inquired of the master under 
whom they had studied, and asked if they had been dili¬ 
gent in following the lectures ; what persons they had visit¬ 
ed, and if they had avoided games and theatres; above 
all, he wished to know if they had often received the 
sacraments, and assisted at the congregation of foreign 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


285 


clergy, every Sunday. He never decided, under a consi¬ 
derable time, and did not neglect to charge some friends at 
Naples, to furnish him with the most exact information 
about them. 

If, after all this information, he was not entirely satisfied 
as to the conduct of the candidate, he was refused at once. 
Thus he refused to receive a young man to minor orders, 
though his conduct w T as very exemplary, because he some¬ 
times conversed with a suspected priest. He had no 
more pity for another seminarist, who was several times 
excluded from orders, as being little studious, and little 
edifying; and who, despairing of entering into favor with 
the prelate, laid down the clerical dress, and quitted the 
seminary. A deacon having walked about during the 
night, in company with some singers with whom he had 
amused himself, Alphonsus refused to make him priest, at 
which the young man shed tears, and got several persons 
of distinction to intercede for him, but all was useless. A 
cleric in minor orders, was refused, for a number of years, 
without being able to be made a subdeacon, because he 
was fond of wine, although he protested that he had put 
himself on a regimen of water; nor was he permitted to 
stay in the seminary. The young man went to another, 
but in spite of the good testimonials of his new director, 
Alphonsus always remained inflexible. In order to be sure 
of his amendment, he made him return to St. Agatha, and 
did not ordain him until he was convinced of his constant 
temperance. He who did any thing to cause a shadow of 
suspicion with regard to purity, was obliged to renounce 
all hope of ever being a priest; he was not only excluded 
from orders, but was also obliged to give up the clerical 
habit. With all this solicitude, Alphonsus had, notwith¬ 
standing, two misfortunes to deplore, in regard to ordina¬ 
tion. The first was, in regard to a deacon he found in the 
seminary at his arrival at St. Agatha, who was so distin¬ 
guished in his studies, that he solved the most difficult 
questions in theology and philosophy; but Alphonsus 
heard that he was addicted to wine, and from that time he 


286 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


determined not to admit him to the priesthood. Some per¬ 
son of distinction interfered, but without success. After 
several years, the parish priest, and other ecclesiastics of 
the chapter, again endeavored to speak in his favor. Al- 
phonsus resisted for a long time, but at length he could 
not refuse to yield to the numerous reasons they gave, to 
assure him of his amendment. “ I consent to ordain him 
priest,” said he, “but he will enjoy the dignity but a short 
time, he will fall back into sin, and die miserably.” The 
deacon was made a priest, but in a little time he took to 
drinking again. Alphonsus grieved over this ; he sent for 
him one day, and said to him, before his parish priest: “ If 
you do not give up drinking, woe will be to you ! Wine 
will be your ruin.” A year after this prediction, the in¬ 
corrigible man got drunk again, and fell into a ditch, where 
he lost his life. The other case was that of another dea¬ 
con, who had been excluded from the priesthood for several 
years, as he did not appear to possess the requisite disposi¬ 
tions. An ecclesiastic of merit tried to overcome the 
bishop’s repugnance, and represented to him this deacon’s 
regularity in frequenting the sacraments, and his retired 
and constantly exemplary life. Alphonsus was prevailed 
on, but he had scarcely ordained him, before his conduct 
became a source of continual scandal to the diocese; he 
was soon thrown into prison, but he broke his irons, and 
banished himself. 

He required that those who were to be admitted to holy 
orders, should also present proofs of a suitable patrimony. 
He wished them to have five hundred ducats, free from any 
burden. He examined into the property, as well as the 
rental, himself, and if the income of twenty-four ducats was 
not clear, he rejected the case. 

Alphonsus was neither too easy nor too cautious in or¬ 
daining new clerics, but he admitted all in whom he recog¬ 
nized a real vocation. “It is not our business,” said he, 
“ to call any one to this holy state, nor to reject him from 
it; it is God who calls, and He does it as He pleases.” 
He liked to see young men eager to consecrate themselves 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


•287 


to the service of the altar, and if they showed themselves 
worthy of it, he was happy to receive them. He was par¬ 
ticular in observing the degrees of advancement, and only 
granted a dispensation in cases of necessity. Above all, 
he never consented to give a dispensation, on account of 
age, unless there was a real necessity, and for a subject of 
most exemplary conduct. He attached, also, great im¬ 
portance to the spiritual exercises before ordination, re¬ 
garding them as the only means of instructing young men 
in their duties, but he did not allow them to be gone through 
in a religious house of relaxed observance. He wished them 
to perform them in one of the houses of his Congregation, 
or of the Fathers of St. Vincent of Paul. And if he knew 
any one who was really poor, he himself paid the neces¬ 
sary expenses. 

On the day of ordination, Alphonsus was in the habit of 
assembling the young men in the chapel, beforehand, and 
of giving them a sermon on the greatness of their state, 
and their obligation to live in it holily; moreover, during 
mass, he usually gave them a little exhortation, in order to 
excite them to receive holy communion with fervor, and he 
did it with so much unction, that it caused the candidates 
and spectators to shed tears. 

Alphonsus, fully convinced of the wants of the diocese, 
desired to have the new priests, not only of good character 
and well instructed, but also truly disposed to aid souls, 
and to cause religion to be honored. “ I do not try,” said 
he, to the examiners, “ to approve the candidates, simply 
that they may be able to say mass, for masses will not be 
wanting, but in order to have useful workmen for the 
Church. I wish that, after having ordained them, they 
may be capable of hearing confessions, and of serving me 
in time of need, not only in the parishes, but also in the 
monasteries; and that they may be capable of serving in 
the missions, and attending to all the wants of my diocese.” 
He himself instructed all the candidates, as to the manner 
of hearing confessions, and gave them methods of con¬ 
duct to be used towards habitual sinners, towards the back- 


288 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


sliding, and towards those who were living in occasions 
of sin. When he noticed any among these young 
priests, of very promising dispositions, he immediately 
managed to place -them as curates. Having found two 
deacons whom he judged fit to receive the priesthood, and 
to hear confessions, but, who were poor, and still under 
the required age, he obtained a dispensation for them, at 
bis own expense. 

He gave no one power to celebrate his first mass, if he 
were not, beforehand, assured that he knew even the mi¬ 
nutest rubrics. “ When a person begins in a bungling 
manner,” said he, “ he never gets right again.” He often 
made young clerics celebrate in his presence. Neither did 
he allow the first mass to be an occasion of feasting and 
worldly rejoicing; he even forbade the giving of extraor¬ 
dinary repasts at that time, and the inviting of strangers to 
them. “Wine has sway at table,” he said, “and when 
wine has sway, sin is not far off.” He wished that the 
young priest should preserve a state of recollection on this 
day, in order to merit from God the plenitude of graces so 
necessary in this sublime state. He called this day, that 
of the solemn marriage of Jesus Christ with the soul, and 
for this reason, he wished that the mass should then be 
celebrated in a retired place. He urged, also, the newly 
ordained priest to make a good preparation before cele¬ 
brating mass, and to excite in himself good dispositions 
by repeated acts of faith and charity, so that he might wor¬ 
thily handle so awful a mystery, and recommended him, 
moreover, not to leave the church without making his 
thanksgiving. “ By the acts which precede,” said he, 
“ above all, by those of contrition, the vessel is emptied 
and purified ; and by the acts which follow, it is filled with 
the gifts of grace.” As he detested all precipitation in 
saying mass, so he equally condemned lengthiness, which 
is always wearisome to the people. “Amass,” said he, 
“ which exceeds half an hour, creates weariness, and not 
devotion in those who hear it.” And he was in the habit 
of adducing St. Philip Neri’s example, who prescribed this 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


289 


rule, to himself, when he celebrated in public. He ex¬ 
horted them also, to recite the office without hurrying it 
over. “Mass and the office,” he said, “will sanctify us if 
we go through them as we ought; but they will destroy us, 
or deprive us of very great graces, if we perform them ne¬ 
gligently.” Such were, among many others, the measures 
which Alphonsus took, in order to have well instructed 
and edifying priests, who might save the people, and con¬ 
sole the Church. 

Alphonsus was very careful and prudent in giving an ap¬ 
probation to new confessors. The examination, however, 
was not rigorous, but was conducted with a wise degree of 
slowness; it was sometimes prolonged for several weeks, 
during which the subject was obliged to return very often, 
and to undergo new interrogatories each time. He caused 
all the questions to be published, and they filled twenty- 
four pages. If he saw that one was weak and hesitating, 
he put him off to another time. At times, several were 
found to be capable who did not receive their powers, or 
at least, only on condition of returning after two or three 
months. When the parish priests, or others, came to ask 
him to give a priest the faculty to hear confessions, saying 
that their parish was in want of confessors, he admitted no 
one to examination, without being informed whether he 
was a man of prayer; whether he made his thanksgiving 
as he ought after mass, whether he ever failed to visit the 
Blessed Sacrament every evening, and above all, whether he 
ever visited suspicious or dangerous people. If any doubt 
remained on his mind, he was not even admitted to 
examination. 

He was not less severe w ith the regulars; so that when 
a regular presented himself to obtain the faculties for con¬ 
fessing, the testimony of his provincial, and letters certi¬ 
fying that he had been a confessor in other dioceses, did 
not in the least exempt him from the examination. A 
newly elected abbot of a certain monastery, when he came 
the first time to see Alphonsus, asked him for faculties for 
two of his religious. Alphonsus begged to be excused, as 
25 


290 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


he could not acquiesce, without scruple of conscience, 
before having had proofs of their capability. The abbot 
insisted and entreated, but all was in vain. When he saw 
such immoveable firmness, he had not the courage to ask 
for jurisdiction for himself, and did it through the medium 
of a person of influence, but this was without success; he 
was obliged to present himself in person. His lordship 
acted, however, with prudence; he conversed with him 
alone, and without formality, and proposed some doubts to 
him, after the removal of which, he conferred the powers 
on him. As to the two religious, they did not present 
themselves, until after they had studied morals for a con¬ 
siderable time. When Abbot Pignatelli, who afterwards 
became Archbishop of Bari and Capua, went to the abbey 
of Ariola, Alphonsus, who did not know him well, replied, 
when asked to give the abbot faculties for hearing confes- 
sion, that he could not give them if the abbot did not pre¬ 
viously answer to the questions which he would put to him. 
This offended the abbot; he came to visit Alphonsus how¬ 
ever, who treated him with every mark of attention, but 
never spoke of the jurisdiction. The Grand-Vicar, at last, 
said to him, to do away with his scruples : “ Suppose, my 
Lord, that when the abbot comes again to visit you, we try 
to make the conversation fall upon theology, and, if he 
proves his capacity by his answers, you can give him juris¬ 
diction, without fear.” Alphonsus agreed to the plan, and 
put it in execution on the very next visit of the abbot, and 
the result was completely in favor of the learned religious. 
Abbot Pignatelli was able to appreciate Alphonsus’ impar¬ 
tiality, and had the most sincere attachment to him from 
that time. Alphonsus, on his part, was convinced of the 
abbot’s merit, and took a great deal of pains to cause him 
to be nominated archbishop. 

It may be said that Alphonsus was as prompt in with¬ 
drawing faculties for hearing confessions from those who 
proved to be unworthy of them, as he was prudent in giving 
them. Having heard that a religious, at Arpaja, was in the 
habit of despising the poor, and occupying himself too 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


291 


much with the direction of some devotees, he sent for him, 
and immediately withdrew his powers. He also suspended 
several others, and some he even expelled from his diocese. 

Convinced of the importance of the duties of parish 
priests, Alphonsus gave the most scrupulous attention to 
their election. “A zealous priest,” said he, “sanctifies 
all his people, but an indifferent one does not preserve 
the good, and can only do harm.” He did not require 
great learning in them, but wished that they should have a 
sufficiency of information, and, above all, that they should 
be versed in moral theology, and capable of instructing the 
people properly. The concourses for the parishes always 
took place in his presence, and he wished the examinations 
to be made with severity, and urged the examiners to fulfil 
their office faithfully, representing to them, how much he 
sins who co-operates in the nomination of a parish priest 
who is unworthy of his ministry. An admirable delicacy, 
also, presided in these examinations. A priest was once 
rejected by the examiners, for having followed authors op¬ 
posed to the system of Alphonsus. When he heard of 
this, he said : “The authors whom he follows, are standard 
and approved ones; I have no authority to act as a law, in 
matters of opinion; every one is at liberty to follow his 
own, when the Church has not condemned it.” He thus, 
undertook the defence of the priest, and the consequence 
was that he obtained the benefice. At another time, a 
living having become vacant, a deacon was the one who 
answered the best among the candidates. Alphonsus wit¬ 
nessed it with satisfaction, but in consideration of the age, 
and merits of a priest, who was al§o a candidate, he 
begged the deacon to be patient for this time, and he spoke 
to him with so much humility, that the young man was 
quite confused at it. However, if charity made him give 
preference to the priest, he did not wish the deacon’s rights 
to be neglected, and the Cathedral parish having become 
vacant shortly after, the right of election to which belonged 
to the chapter, Alphonsus immediately wrote to Arch- 


292 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


deacon Rainone, to beg that, for his sake, the parish should 
be given to the deacon, and his request was granted. 

He always preferred sanctity to learning; moderate abil¬ 
ities and exemplary conduct were in his eyes sufficient to 
make a good parish priest. “Those of great talents,” he 
said, “are more solicitous about the dead, than the living. 
They are full of erudition and speculation only. If they 
preach, they are not understood ; they do not lower them¬ 
selves to teach children, and will only instruct clerics. I 
wish the priest to find pleasure in remaining with the dying, 
and that he should be able to pass his time in talking to 
one of little capacity, while endeavoring to teach him the 
Pater noster.” He therefore chose subjects who proved 
themselves humble and submissive, in preference to those 
who set up for learned; provided, always, they were not 
wanting in aptness for acquitting themselves of the func¬ 
tions of the ministry. A holy man destitute of energy, 
or a man whose sanctity did not extend further than to 
think of himself without anxiety for others, could not, 
according to him, make a good parish priest. 

He wished, from the first, to cause the livings to be con¬ 
sidered honorable, so as to have good occupants; and he 
therefore raised the parish priests to the prebends. It may 
be said, that, before his time, those who were candidates 
for parishes, were only the priests who were thought least 
of, among the clergy, and who, for the most part, were 
distinguished in no way, and were of no rank; but when 
the parishes became as the ladders whereby to reach a 
more elevated position, the first gentlemen labored to ob¬ 
tain them, and in this way the livings were administered 
with zeal, and to the great advantage of souls. 

The holy bishop was still more solicitous, when he had 
to make the collation to benefices.* Even those which 

* Although the diocese of St. Agatha was not so extensive, nurq. 
bering only 30,000 souls, yet, with the exception of that of Capua, 
there was not one in the kingdom which had a greater number of bene¬ 
fices. Besides the chapter of the cathedral, there were in it six col¬ 
leges of canons. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


293 


were simple, and without the care of souls, but which re¬ 
quired residence, caused him great anxiety. Not satisfied 
with the good conduct of the subjects, he further wished 
that they should have great merit, as regarded the Church 
and the people. “The Church and the people,” he said, 
“are both interested in the collation of benefices.” He 
had a little book, wherein the names of the priests and 
clerics of the whole diocese were inserted, with the merits 
and demerits of each, so that when it was necessary to 
make an appointment, he had usually no need of any 
further inquiry. A nomination was made without delay ; 
as soon as one incumbent expired, a successor was ap¬ 
pointed. When it happened that he could not decide im¬ 
mediately, because he saw good conduct counterbalanced 
by some defect, or because he had several ecclesiastics of 
equal merit, he took the opinion of impartial persons, and 
then weighed the merits and demerits of each in the bal¬ 
ance of the sanctuary, and took the matter in considera¬ 
tion, several times, before God. On such occasions, he 
went often through a real martyrdom, as Archdeacon Rai- 
none, who enjoyed his entire confidence, has declared. 
One day, Alphonsus said to him : “The anguish which the 
death of this canon will cause me, is so great, that I would 
willingly give my life for his; the canon will only die once, 
while I shall die more than a hundred times.” He did 
not confine himself merely to the town of St. Agatha, 
when looking for a successor to one who was dead, but 
searched throughout the whole diocese—and, for the same 
reason, he never favored any stranger; he would have con¬ 
sidered it as an injustice to stand in the way of those of 
his own diocese. 

There is recorded an instance, in which Divine Provi¬ 
dence visibly interposed, as it were, in the nomination to 
a vacant prebend. He had sealed the letter containing the 
nomination, and the servant was all ready to take it, when 
a violent storm came on, which kept him in the house, 
and thus deferred its delivery. Alphonsus received a letter 
from the archdeacon, during this interval, which informed 
25* 


294 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHOffSUS. 


him of the merits of another candidate. He directly took 
back his own, destroyed it, and nominated the more worthy 
competitor who had just been pointed out to him. How¬ 
ever, the merits of the second candidate must have ap¬ 
peared to him incontestibly great, for, otherwise, he always 
remained unmoveably fixed in his first determination. 

From the time he had entered the diocese, he had de¬ 
clared, as we have seen above, that no one’s influence was 
to be used in order to obtain livings or benefices, and that 
all the efforts of the sort which might be made would be 
so many means of becoming unworthy of them; and, 
during all the time that he was bishop of St. Agatha, he 
never listened to the solicitations of persons even of the 
highest rank. Merit was the only claim in his sight, and 
even merit vanished when it sought the support of a pro¬ 
tector. Out of many examples on record, let the follow¬ 
ing suffice as an illustration of the strictness with which he 
adhered to this rule. A prebend became vacant at Ari- 
enzo, and Alphonsus decided on giving it to a priest who 
seemed to surpass the others, especially because he was 
the only one amongst the canons who had not got some 
one to intercede for him. He was ready to expedite the 
nomination, when he saw him present himself with a letter 
of recommendation from the Prince della Riccia. “God 
forgive you,” he then said to him, “I was determined to 
give you the prebend, but since you have brought me this 
letter, I have changed my mind, indignus quia petiisti 
He said to the prince, afterwards, that he hoped he would 
not take his refusal amiss, since, if he gave such a prece¬ 
dent, he would open the way to other and scandalous in¬ 
trigues. He used to say, that recourse to recommenda¬ 
tions, and simony, were twin sisters, and that they had the 
same devil for their father. 

The Marquis of Marco, the king’s minister, once wrote 
to him, quite in a friendly manner, to beg him to confer a 
living which was. vacant, on a young ecclesiastic, whose 
merits, he said, had caused him to take this liberty; but 
even this recommendation only served to throw discredit 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


295 


on the protege. Another living became vacant, and a 
priest induced another priest, whom he believed to possess 
great influence with the bishop, to intercede for him; he 
wrote to tell his friend to ask it for him, for the love of the 
Blessed Virgin, saying, that if he adopted this method, lie 
would certainly be heard, as the Saint never refused any 
thing which was asked in her name: but as Alphonsus did 
not consider him worthy to be appointed because he had 
procured this recommendation, he replied: “Tell him 
that I refuse to give him the living for the love of the 
Blessed Virgin, for our Lady only likes what is good.” 
In several cathedrals, and even in the collegiate estab¬ 
lishments, they professed to consider the chaplains as 
merely the prebendary’s servants, which caused the latter 
to look down on them, and to dislike seeing them raised 
to their own dignity. Alphonsus, however, who only 
thought of merit, was always ready to advance such of 
them, as were worthy of it, to the prebendal stalls, so that 
the situation of chaplain, being as a ladder whereby to as¬ 
cend to the prebends, became more honorable. The elec¬ 
tion of the chaplains of St. Agatha was made by the bishop, 
and Alphonsus, in order to promote the greater good of the 
Church, decreed that these situations should be the reward 
of particular merit. As their office is to chant in the choir, 
he established meetings for chanting; and inconsequence, 
all the clerics, in the hope of becoming chaplains, applied 
themselves to the Gregorian plain chant, and the choir was 
thus greatly improved. 

The holy bishop, who had the Church’s good and glorjr 
alone at heart, obliged the canons to residence as strictly 
as he had done in regard to priests, (as we have seen 
above,) and was careful to prevent them from taking upon 
themselves charges incompatible with their duties. A 
chaplain was secretary to Count Cerreto, and only went to 
the cathedral from time to time. A prebend became va¬ 
cant, and he immediately entered the lists, confident that, 
as the bishop was just, (so he said,) the prebend would be 
thought due to him as being the oldest of all the chaplains. 


296 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


He presented himself, and exposed all his claims. “ You 
are quite new to me,” answered Alphonsus, “for I have 
never seen you at church.” “ That is true,” replied the 
chaplain with a complacent air, “for I have had the honor 
of being Count Cerreto’s secretary fora number of years.” 
“Well,” answered the bishop, “ but why did not the count 
make you a prebendary?” Then he added, in a more se¬ 
rious tone: “You must either give up your situation as 
secretary as soon as possible, and come and perform your 
duties at church, or I shall cause you to be no longer a 
chaplain.” “ Either quit your new employment,” he said 
to another, who was employed in an important charge 
which prevented his frequenting the church, “ or give up 
being a prebendary.” 

Alphonsus’ great impartiality and equity in giving bene¬ 
fices naturally displeased candidates of unjust pretensions. 
He had a great deal to suffer on this account, and was 
often put in dangerous positions in consequence. They 
even went the length of insulting him, and saying before 
his face ; “ you are unjust, you have neither conscience nor 
equity, you ought to blush at being a bishop.” At such 
speeches, Alphonsus was never either disturbed or dis¬ 
tressed. He pitied their anger, and never opened his 
mouth except to bless those who cursed him. Such 
rare goodness and meekness, however, did not always put 
the unjust pretenders to silence. One individual, who had 
been unable to get a prebend, to which he had aspired, got 
angry with him in consequence, slandered him, and even 
accused him with the king. The sovereign, who knew Al¬ 
phonsus’ justice and impartiality, answered: “I can do 
nothing; Bishop Liguori exercises his right as a bishop.” 
Another prebend became vacant about the same time, and 
Alphonsus then forgot his injuries, and bestowed it on the 
very man who had appealed against him. “ If you give to 
those who oppose you,” F. Caputo then observed to him, 
“ you will have no peace, for the future.” “ That is true,” 
replied Alphonsus, “but at the time of the first gift, I 
thought the competitor more worthy than the appealer, and 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


297 


at the second, I found that the latter was the most worthy.” 
As F. Caputo observed further, that people would think 
otherwise, and believe that saying abusive things and ap¬ 
pealing against him was the means of obtaining what they 
aspired to, he answered: Poor creatures, they do not 
know what they wish for, and they try to get what they 
can ; but for me, I ought to bear with them, and to do my 
duty.” 

Another pretender, having failed, addressed a statement 
to the king, filled with falsehoods against Alphonsus, whom 
he designated as unjust. The accusation was sent to the 
bishop, that he might justify himself; he did so, but so far 
from seeking to injure his calumniator, he only tried to 
excuse him. The man was not free from blame for other 
causes, and people endeavored to get Alphonsus to bring 
him to justice before his own tribunal; but he not only re¬ 
jected the advice with horror, but always treated this priest 
with great kindness from that time. A prebend became 
vacant after this, and Alphonsus, considering his merits 
equal to those of another candidate, gave the preference to 
him who had accused him. In another similar case, Al¬ 
phonsus was again not only loaded with injuries but also 
accused with the king by the brother of the rejected pre¬ 
tender, a public notary, who designated him in his libel, as 
a rebel against the royal will, asserting that he did not 
make promotions, but let the parishes suffer, in order that 
they might depend more on the Pope than on his majesty, 
and asking, besides, that the canons and chaplains should 
be no longer elected by the bishop, but by the people in 
public assembly. When this appeal was given to Alphon¬ 
sus, in order that he might justify himself, he said : “ It is 
true that I cause suffering to the parishes, but all the rest 
is false.” After he had sent in his justification, the king 
answered through the Marquis of Marco: “The king is 
persuaded of the wisdom of your conduct, and he trusts in 
your prudence in the appointments to livings.” Alphonsus 
again took a saintly revenge. One day, when a prebend was 
vacant, he was, as usual with him at dinner, listening to 


298 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


spiritual reading, and that part of the life of D’Innico Ca- 
racciolo, cardinal and bishop of Averso, being read to him, 
where it is said that he revenged himself for a great offence 
on the part of a priest, by conferring a large benefice on 
him ; at these words, he said to the reader: “ Stop, and re¬ 
peat what you have just read.” When this was done, he 
sent for the Grand-Vicar, and said : “ I have resolved to 
give consolation to the notary and he ordered him to 
have prepared the necessary papers for conferring the pre¬ 
bend on the brother of the notary. When the Grand-Vicar 
observed, that, as the king had not yet declared that he was 
satisfied with his justification, it might be said that he had 
been intimidated, he replied: “Oh indeed, are we then 
obliged to attend to all that is said ? Let them think and 
speak what they please; what concerns me is the notary’s 
soul, and not my own glory.” And not being able to en¬ 
dure any delay, he sent for the notary, and said to him, as 
if he had been his intimate friend, “ send for your young 
brother from Naples, I intend to make him a prebendary.” 
Another solicitor, whose pretensions were not complied 
with, applied also to the king, and slanderously accused Al- 
phonsus of a thousand evil things. One of the greatest 
causes of offence alleged, was that he despised the episco¬ 
pal town, and overlooked its citizens in bestowing livings, 
to give them to other inhabitants of the diocese. The king 
having again given the accused bishop the power of justifying 
himself and of replying to these accusations, he sent his 
justification, in a very elaborate and erudite letter on the 
ecclesiastical laws concerning the conferring of livings and 
benefices, which was published, for the first time, at the 
period of our Saint’s canonization. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


299 


CHAPTER XXIV. 

Alphonsus’ solicitude for the Sanctification of Religious. 
His zeal for the material Churches. The Congregation of 
Alphonsus is persecuted. He publishes two new works. 
He goes to Naples for the defence of his Congregation. 
How he exercises his zeal at Naples. 

A LPHONSUS’ zeal in laboring for the good of the min¬ 
isters of the altar, led him, also, to attempt to sanctify 
the religious, who are more especially consecrated to God. 
He wished that the ancient monastic regularity should be 
revived in all the convents,'and he tried, at least, to renew 
their piety, and to prevent their falling into still further 
decay. “If we succeed in this,” he said, “it will not be 
a trifling thing.” In consequence, he sent for F. Villani 
and other missionaries from Naples, at the time of his arrival 
in the diocese, to give the spiritual exercises to all the mon¬ 
asteries, and he caused this to be repeated at least once every 
year. The spiritual exercises were in his eyes the best 
method, or rather, the only method for sanctifying souls. 
“ A retreat is a fire,” he said, “ in which the most rusty iron 
ought to become softened and purified.” When he was at 
Arienzo, he received and entertained the preachers in his 
palace, in order not to cause any expense to the commu¬ 
nities. Moreover, he often seized opportunities of going to 
visit one or the other of these convents in person, and spent 
two or three days in preaching, at the grate, on the duties 
of religious. He by this means caused them to love prayer 
and mortification, and led them in the paths of the sub- 
limest perfection. 

He considered Nuns, in particular, as the most precious 
portion of his flock, and, following the example of the 
good shepherd, he neglected no method of saving them 
from ravenous wolves. Open grates were to him as so 
many thorns w'hich pierced his heart: “A shut grate, and 
a sanctified monastery,” he said, “an open grate and a 


300 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


relaxed convent.” He enjoined the abbesses, and still 
more the confessors, to watch over this point, and wished 
to be informed of all disorders, in order to be able to 
remedy them immediately; relations within the second 
degree alone had access to the parlor. His vigilance and 
pains in preventing any one from frequenting the con¬ 
vents, extended to those belonging to his own household. 
He considered it a great fault for any one, under any pre¬ 
text, to violate the rule in this respect, the Grand-Vicar 
alone was excepted. He dismissed, successively, two 
secretaries from his service for this reason alone, saying, 
“ if the law is not observed by my own household, who 
then will observe it?” 

Alphonsus was also very prudent in his choice of con¬ 
fessors for the convents. No examination was enough to 
satisfy him; he weighed the gestures, the words, and 
searched even into the opinions of the subject. He made 
a new nomination every three years, and, if a lack of con¬ 
fessors compelled him to confirm the same, he only did so 
with trembling; when, on the contrary, he was able to re¬ 
place him, all the entreaties of the nuns could not prevail 
on him to confirm the former one. Frequent conversation 
with the religious at the grate, was a sacrilege in his sight: 
“ God speaks in the confessional,” he said, “ but not at 
the grate.” He allowed the confessor to receive some 
token of gratitude on certain days of solemnity, but he did 
not suffer him to receive frequent presents, and they were 
always required to be given by the whole community. He 
was delighted to hear of any young pensioner who wished 
to consecrate herself to Jesus Christ. He hastened to 
assist at the ceremony, and left every other occupation for 
the purpose. He also accepted every invitation for the 
profession of even a lay-sister, never omitting to preach on 
each occasion. He never required the least recompense, 
on these occasions, or permitted any attention of the sort 
to be paid to him. “A bishop,” said he, “ ought to have 
no other recompense than is necessary to enable him to fulfil 
the obligations of his ministry.” On another occasion, he 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


301 


said: “ It is my privilege and it is my duty to consecrate 
these victims of charity to God.” 

In order to give the religious every advantage possible, 
he sent an extraordinary confessor to them, every three 
months, without their asking for one. He thought, also, 
that a new confessor ought always to be granted to a re¬ 
ligious, when she asks for it. He heard that the nuns of 
a certain convent could only write to their ordinary con¬ 
fessor, through a regulation on that subject, which was in 
force therein. He immediately sent for the Superior, and 
desired that this rule should be relaxed, whenever any of 
them wished to apply to any confessor of well known 
probity. 

In his zeal for the re-establishment of religious disci- 

O 

pline, he wished to introduce living in community, in some 
of the convents, at least, and chose for this purpose, one 
in which he expected to find the least difficulty. But as 
soon as he had informed the nuns of his project, they all 
united against it, and as he saw that more harm than good 
would result from it, he said: “Calm yourselves, I pur¬ 
posed it for your good, but as you judge otherwise, forget 
all I have said about it.” He had a maxim, that when re¬ 
ligious are not all agreed, the discontent of even one will 
give birth to a party, and, that will cause disorders, and the 
final ruin of the convent; so, far from being offended at 
the opposition of these religious, he paid them quite a pa¬ 
ternal visit on the following day. 

In another convent, the circumstances of the times, and 
the severity of the rules prevented several points from being 
observed. “What is the use of preserving a written rule of 
one sort, if one practises another?” said Alphonsus, and 
he reformed the rule and caused it to be printed. He 
acted like another Francis of Sales, in the reforms which 
he made in these rules, with a rare wisdom, condescending 
to every want and yet avoiding too great indulgence. 

While he endeavored to ameliorate the state of the con¬ 
vents, he also tried to extirpate their abuses. It was the 
custom among the Franciscans of Airola, that when a 
26 


302 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


young person was clothed or professed, she should remain 
seated at the door during the rest of the day, to receive 
the congratulations of her relations and friends. Alphon- 
sus, wishing this day to be one of recollection and thanks¬ 
giving rather than of dissipation of mind, ordered, that 
neither the door nor the grate should be opened after 
dinner, but that the Blessed Sacrament should be exposed 
in the church, in order that the new spouse of Jesus Christ 
might then be able, in a special manner, to obtain abundant 
blessings. Another abuse had been that the young person 
dined in the parlor with her relations and friends, and it 
was all arranged like any worldly entertainment. When 
Alphonsus saw the preparations for this repast, on the day 
the two daughters of a noble lady of St. Agatha made their 
profession, he was indignant, and immediately ordered 
them to be put an end to. The noble lady and the abbess 
came to entreat, but he would not yield; the lady’s em¬ 
barrassment was then represented to him, (for she had 
invited relations and friends from various parts, and had no 
house in the neighborhood in which she could receive 
them,) and Alphonsus so far yielded to this consideration 
as to consent to the repast taking place in the convent, but 
on condition that the grate and the door should remain 
shut, and that the keys should be placed in the hands of 
the abbess. 

Alphonsus was once present at the profession of a novice 
in a convent of Arienzo; at the instant when she was to 
pronounce the formula of the vows, the master of the cere¬ 
monies asked him to pass his hands through the grate. 
Alphonsus did not understand this mystery, and was at a 
loss what to do, but as the canon insisted, and said that the 
novice ought to place her hands in his whilst uttering the 
vows, interpreting thus literally the direction of the ritual 
that she should make the vows in the hands of the bishop, 
he exclaimed : “ Oh, Jesus! Oh, Jesus! What has that to 
do with the profession ? Let her keep her hands to herself, 
and I will keep mine,” and explaining the meaning of the 
rubric, forever suppressed this strange ceremony. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


303 


Figured music, although forbidden to religious by several 
decrees at Rome, was quite in fashion in another convent. 
Alphonsus forbade its use in this convent, as well as in 
others, and prescribed the sole use of the Gregorian chant. 
“ The church is not a theatre,” said he, “ and religious are 
no opera singers.” He forbade anthems on festivals, with 
still greater severity, and wished that, if they were ever 
anxious to sing something extra, it should never be a solo. 
They were, however, not over scrupulous in following these 
orders. One evening, a nun was singing the Litany of the 
Blessed Virgin to figured music, when Alphonsus suddenly 
entered the church ; the nun perceived him, and directly 
commenced to sing it to the Gregorian chant. He seemed 
not to take any notice of it at first, but when he came to 
the grate, he said to the nun : “You wished to deceive me 
just now, and that was not right; I forbade it because I did 
not think it proper. Light music is a decoy to young liber¬ 
tines, who do not hasten to it through devotion, but to hear 
the nun .who sings; and who does not see that she is thus 
the cause of a number of disorders and sins?” Alphonsus 
made two predictions in regard to singers in this convent. 
They told him they wished to receive a lay-sister, a young 
person who was a good musician, to teach plain chant to 
the novices and young parishioners. “ I grant your requesi,” 
he replied, “but she will not persevere.” And so it was; 
the new lay-sister left the convent a short time afterwards. 
They solicited him again in favor of another, who also 
understood music. “This one will not persevere any 
better,” he said with a smile, and the young novice re¬ 
turned home after a few months. “ God evidently con¬ 
demns our duplicity,” the religious then said, “ since our 
plans are found out by his Lordship,” and they made a firm 
resolution never to think of having any thing but Grego¬ 
rian chant for the time to come. 

In some convents the entrance of little children was per¬ 
mitted, through an abuse. The Council of Trent forbids it, 
and Alphonsus immediately confirmed this prohibition, and 
caused it strictly to be observed. 


304 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


He took still more pains to prevent the introduction of 
new abuses, than to extirpate the old ones. The nuns of 
a convent intended to make new windows, which would, 
open on the street, and which were to be furnished with, 
blinds; they asked permission from Alphonsus, but he re¬ 
fused it. Persons in authority interfered in their behalf, 
but he let the nuns know, that if they did not desist from, 
their project they would displease him very much, because 
he could not consent to an improper thing. The religious 
then followed his advice, and took rio further steps in the 
affair. The Pope granted, from time to time, to cloistered 
nuns, permission to absent themselves from the convents 
Alphonsus, knowing some in the diocese inclined to ask. 
for a similar dispensation, warned them to abstain from so 
doing. “The Pope refers it to the Ordinary,” he said,, 
“and I will never consent to grant it, for I know what a 
bad reputation these goings out hare, and the very least 
evil which results from them is a very great dissipation of 
mind.” Some nuns complained that he never granted 
them any thing, and that they had met with three refusals, 
consecutively. “Let them ask me for things that are just 
and right,” he replied, “ and I will take care not to refuse 
them; but whenever they address unreasonable requests ta 
me, they must not expect to obtain any thing. 

The material churches were no less the objects of Al¬ 
phonsus’ solicifude than the living temples; and as all 
that enhances the glory of God’s house must be considered 
amongst the objects of a perfect zeal, Alphonsus also sig¬ 
nalized himself in this respect, after the example of King 
David. “ I have loved, 0 Lord, the beauty of thy house, 
and the place where thy glory dwelleth.”— Psal. xxv, 8. 
When he entered the diocese, he particularly aimed at in¬ 
creasing the magnificence of the churches,, and he spared 
neither labor, fatigue, nor expense, to attain this end. The 
old church of St. Agnes, at Arienzo, was so much out of 
repairs, that it was nearly in ruins; Alphonsus at once en¬ 
gaged the canons belonging to the chapter, to restore it r 
and so inflamed their zeal, that,, soon, instead of a low and. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


305 


n>ean looking building, an edifice of a noble elevation, and 
with a beautiful roof, was obtained ; it was adorned also 
with statues and other tasteful ornaments, which made the 
church extremely beautiful. 

The church of St. Stephen, also at Arienzo, was like¬ 
wise in a deplorable state. He caused it to be examined, 
and ascertained the expenses for the necessary repairs, and, 
as the incumbent had sold a felling of wood for three 
thousand three hundred ducats, he sequestered three hun¬ 
dred ducats to be applied to the first third of the payment; 
with that he repaired the roof, embellished the stucco of 
the high altar, restored the pavement with taste, and made 
a large window to remedy the dampness. The principal 
church of St. Angelus was in a bad state, and presented 
the appearance of a barracks rather than that of a temple of 
God, and it would soon have fallen to entire ruin. Al- 
phonsus endeavored to repair it, in spite of the complaints 
of the incumbent, who cared more for his revenues than 
for the restoration of the church. The restoration of these 
two churches was a work of time; but our Saint made ar¬ 
rangements that the labors should continue after his resig- 
nation, and it is to his care, that the good state in which 
they are now to be found is to be attributed. 

At Ducento, the church of the Arch-presbytery of St. 
Andrew had been in a state of abandonment and ruin for 
a number of years, through the avarice and carelessness of 
the incumbents; the arch-priest’s house itself presented an 
equally unsatisfactory appearance. All this, added to the 
unhealthiness of the place, caused the rector of the church 
to be almost constantly absent, and, in consequence, the 
faithful of the parish to be neglected. Alphonsus was dis¬ 
tressed at this sad stafe of things, but could find no method 
of remedying it, when the arch-priest offered his resigna¬ 
tion. He thought then that he ought not to nominate 
another in his place, and he accordingly appointed a priest 
to perform the duties, assigning him a convenient sum for 
his support, and reserved the rest of the income of the living 
for the repairs of the buildings, which were soon completed. 

26 * 


306 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUSr 


The very large and spacious parish church at Majanr/ 
was so neglected that it looked more like a barn than a 
house of prayer. It was said that there was no means of 
repairing it; but Alphonsus, seconded by the worthy in¬ 
cumbent and aided by the generosity of the faithful, 
changed this church into a real basilica, worthy to rank 
with those which are admired in Naples and Rome. 

He did not take less pains in beautifying the Cathedral, 
although it was in a very good state. This church is a 
magnificent one ; thanks to the deceased Bishop Gaeta, 
who, seeing the ancient Cathedral out of repair, had rebuilt 
it entirely. Alphonsus found the roof injured in several 
places, he immediately sent for experienced workmen, and 
it was put in order; he effected, moreover, a great many 
other repairs of this kind, without ever flinching from any 
expense. He spent about four hundred ducats in em¬ 
bellishing the cross pillars of marble, and the horns of plenty 
of brass. The church had not yet been consecrated ; Mgr. 
Puoli, the bishop of Amalfi, hastened thither at his call, and 
the consecration took place in the year 1763. 

But there is a still more remarkable instance of Alphon- 
sus’ zeal for the house of God. The village of St. Mary de 
Vico, containing more than three thousand souls, was di¬ 
vided into two parishes, the two priests of which had to 
exercise their respective functions in the same church, 
which was, moreover, so small that it could not hold more 
than three hundred persons. As soon as he saw such a 
state of things, he immediately conceived the bold scheme 
of building a church capable of holding all the inhabitants. 
The priests wanted to form two distinct parishes, but he 
feared that if too much were attempted nothing would be 
done, and so he decided that there should be established 
only one, as formerly. He held several meetings, in con¬ 
cert with the two priests, assembling the clergy and gen¬ 
tlemen of the place, and persuaded the two priests to 
give up their tithes, which might have amounted to three 
or four hundred ducats, for theT>enefit of the building ; and 
the parishioners promised to contribute an annual sum of 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


307 


two hundred ducats towards it. Alphonsus, in consequence,, 
sent for two architects from Naples, and had prepared a 
plan for a beautiful and spacious church. The two priests 
would have liked to have had the whole of the needed 
sum in hand, before commencing the building. “If you 
mean to act thus,” said Alphonsus to them, “you will 
never obtain the desired end; I wish the work to be com¬ 
menced at once, if it is not, the church will never be 
finished.” A committee of four ecclesiastics and four lay¬ 
men was formed, and the foundations were commenced. 
Alphonsus went to the spot to look after it all himself; the 
circumference of the church appeared to him to be still too 
small to hold all the people during the time of a mission, 
so he ordered them to enlarge it. He went full of joy, in 
pontifical vestments, preceded by his clergy, to bless the 
first stone of the edifice, in the year 1763. The generous 
prelate contributed, himself, no small sum towards the ex¬ 
penses of the building. He had only ten ducats at first, 
yet he furnished money for a work, the cost of which 
amounted to more than fifteen thousand ducats; his faith 
did the whole. 

The people, encouraged by his magnanimity, aided in 
the undertaking by spontaneous gifts; the two priests wrote 
to tell him, that they would be satisfied with retaining, 
from the two hundred ducats which had remained, only 
enough for their sustenance, and from the surplice fees, the 
sum requisite for the food and the clothing of a servant. 
But troubles did not fail to come, for good things are always 
opposed. The people grew cold, and as the tithes had 
been prohibited for the sums they had promised, they ap¬ 
plied to the royal council for permission to give up contri¬ 
buting to the expenses. Alphonsus, however, was not at 
all discouraged ; he related all that had happened to the 
president of the council, D. Balthasar Cito, his friend, and 
obtained leave for the tithes to be continued until the 
building was finished, after which other measures could 
be taken. He also triumphed over many other obstacles, 
which only served to cause his courage and firmness to 


308 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


be still more admired. He entertained the two architects 
with their servants and horses at his palace at his own 
expense, and obtained an abatement of four or five hun¬ 
dred ducats through their generosity. Through his in¬ 
defatigable energy, he conducted so great an undertaking 
to a happy termination, and when he left the diocese, there 
was nothing remaining to be finished but some stuccoing 
and flagging. 

Alphonsus had at heart the interior embellishment of the 
churches, and the decency which becomes the house of 
God, as well as the substantial construction of the build¬ 
ings. He especially wished the altars to be furnished with 
suitable ornaments. “I have never seen a priest,” said he, 
“make use of dirty and worn-out linen at table; every 
thing they themselves use is clean, and it is only for Jesus 
Christ, that dirty things are allowed.” 

God never granted peace or repose to Alphonsus, but 
unceasingly exercised him in resignation and patience. 
The Congregation was in a flourishing state, but an enemy, 
or to speak more justly, hell, was irritated at the success of 
this work of God, and could not allow it to go on tran¬ 
quilly. A quarrel occurred, three years back, between those 
belonging to the house of Iliceto, and Francis Anthony 
Maffey, a man of great authority, which caused the greatest 
difficulties to that house, as well as to the whole Congrega¬ 
tion. This person had become engaged in a dispute with 
the people, about the fief of Iliceto; the fathers, to avoid 
evil consequences, wished to preserve neutrality, and ob¬ 
tained an exemption from the necessity of appearing at the 
trial. Maffey got angry at their course of conduct, saying: 
“ he who is not for me is against me,” and swore to extir¬ 
pate, not only the house of Iliceto, but the whole Congre¬ 
gation. Baron Sarnelli, at Ciorani, also felt a secret re¬ 
sentment against the fathers there, on account of some 
property which his brother had bequeathed to Alphonsus, 
and which formed the only support of this house. Till 
then, the fathers had always been able to live in harmony 
with him, though he had more than once brought forward 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


309 


his designs, but an unintentional mistake, on their part, 
caused him again to rise up against them. It so happened 
that some mark of attention, in church, was omitted to¬ 
wards his wife, the baroness, and that was enough to cause 
the rupture. Maffey seized on the opportunity of exciting 
the baron, and he became very violent against them. After 
the flame was once kindled, Maffey accused them, in direct 
terms, of crimes, to the king, saying that they, to the scandal 
of the public, had degenerated from what they were when 
the institution was so much praised by his Catholic Majesty. 
The minister’s offices were daily besieged by letters and 
claims, and there was not a court of justice in Naples which 
did not receive some petition against them. The truth 
only reached the king’s ears by slow degrees, and adul¬ 
terated by falsehood. 

Every one may see what grief all this opposition must 
have caused to Alphonsus. He groaned over it, and 
humbling himself before God, adored his righteous judg¬ 
ments. He was most moved at Maffey’s animosity. “ The 
matter is more serious than you imagine,” he said to one 
of the Fathers. “If D. Maffey is offended, I grieve for the 
poor house ! I know his disposition, and what he caused 
the venerable Mgr. Lucci to suffer. May God deign to be 
our Protector.” He ordered fasts and prayers in all the 
houses; he recommended that discretion and charity should 
be exercised towards their adversaries, and, above all, that 
nothing should be undertaken against them, even in self- 
defence, and that recourse should be had to no other arms 
than those of prayer and observance of the rule. But, not¬ 
withstanding, the flame gained ground daily; Alphonsus, 
therefore, in a circular to the members of the Congregation, 
wrote: “ Behold, my dear brothers, how the Lord has 
visited us in sending us so many tribulations. ... It 
is our negligence in observing the rule which God now 
chastises—let us hope in the mercy of Almighty God, who 
will not permit the Congregation to be destroyed; let us 
now try to appease His anger by our prayers, and by avoid¬ 
ing all voluntary transgressions, especially that of disobedi- 


310 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


ence, because in this respect there is no punishment which 
we have not merited.” 

Maffey wished that the Fathers should be deprived of the 
privilege of possessing the rights of citizens, by a sentence 
of the supreme court, although he had already robbed them 
of these rights as far as practice went. They were obliged 
to appear before the royal council of Sommaria, to which 
the king had referred the decision, in regard to some pre¬ 
tended claims of trifling value. The royal council were 
greatly surprised at such grievances, and, finding that the 
demand for depriving them of civil rights had been dictated 
by a malicious spirit, they decreed, unanimously, on the 
1st of January, 1767, that the members of the Congregation 
should enjoy the same privileges as the other subjects be¬ 
longing to the kingdom. Disappointed in this manner, 
Maffey had recourse to intrigue, and obtained access to the 
royal council; and the procurator, allowing himself to be 
prejudiced, forbade the Fathers to administer their pro¬ 
perty, and the little they possessed was entrusted to a 
strange commissioner, named by Maffey. Alphonsus’ 
sorrow, on hearing these tidings, and on seeing his children 
in such distress, may be well imagined. “ Let us not cease 
to pray,” he wrote to them, “because all my hope is in 
God;” and to F. Villani, he said: “Let us behave well, 
and Jesus Christ will protect us; He does not cease to give us 
warnings, but if we prove unfaithful He will abandon us.” 

Things being in this state, Maffey tried by every possible 
means, to prejudice against them the mind of the king and 
his ministers, by false or exaggerated accounts and distorted 
reports, and even by the calumnious accusation that they 
had excited the people to revolt. And he succeeded so 
well, that the suppression of the Congregation was spoken 
of, as well as the chastisement which awaited its members. 
The same miserable attempts were resorted to, at the same 
time, at Ciorani. Their conduct was misrepresented; they 
endeavored to find them guilty of offences against the 
Sovereign and the state. They pretended to prove that 
they led a scandalous life, and that they oppressed the peo- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


311 


pie. The Fathers had daily visits from constables and other 
inferior officers. The. work of the missions suffered very 
much from these interruptions, to the great sorrow of the 
missionaries, and of all good people. 

Alphonsus grieved by such sad events, besides urging the 
members of the Congregation to penance, and redoubling 
his own mortifications, solicited the prayers of several mon¬ 
asteries and holy persons at Naples. He also sent a great 
quantity of wax candles to the hermitage of the Camaldulese 
Fathers, in order that they might expose the Blessed Sa¬ 
crament, and intercede for the Congregation with God, and 
he repeatedly sent large alms to the Capuchin Nuns at 
Naples, and got them to make novenas and other pious 
exercises. 

His children, fearing as to the result of the accusations 
at Naples, asked him to go there himself. On this subject 
he wrote to F. Villani, on the 7th of July, 1767, saying: 
“ I have not gone to Naples, but I have written to the 
President, D. Cito, in a way that will be very efficacious. 
If he does not protect me after that letter, a hundred visits 
would be equally useless. I am prevented from going out, 
by fever, which is constantly attacking me ; the doctors say 
that the least chill or excessive motion might occasion a 
relapse, and if I am not cured while summer lasts, there 
is no chance of being so for the whole winter.” Alphon¬ 
sus, however, was filled with confidence and security, when 
the tempest was at his height, and, in spite of the peril to 
which the little bark of his Congregation was exposed, he 
reposed on the goodness of God, the innocence of his 
sons, and the king’s good disposition. 

In this same year, 1767, while the Congregation was 
thus persecuted, he published his great work for the defence 
of the Catholic Church, called, “The truths of the Faith;” 
in which he shows that the Church is of divine institution, 
and that out of it there is no salvation. To this work, whilst 
it was in press, he added two appendixes; the first was 
against Helvetius, or rather against his book, entitled, 
“The Spirit,” which he refuted in two points: First, with 


312 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


regard to physical sensibility, which Helvetius calls the 
producing cause of our thoughts, an,d in the second place, 
with regard to that other proposition of Helvetius, viz: that 
pleasure and interest form the morality of man, that is to 
say, that all which increases pleasure is honest, and all 
which favors interest is just. The object of the second ap¬ 
pendix is to refute a French work, entitled, “ De la Predi¬ 
cation,” &c., in which the author attacks evangelical 
preaching openly, and establishes a distinction between the 
conversion of the mind and that of the heart, and main¬ 
tains that the first and not the second is effected through 
preaching. Alphonsus demonstrates the impiety of this as¬ 
sertion. 

This work was received with general applause; a canon 
of the Cathedral of Naples, said of it in a report to Car¬ 
dinal Sersale ; “Nothing can hinder or slacken the zeal of 
this apostolical man; in his devotion to the salvation of 
souls, he enters into the lists with indefatigable courage 
in order to maintain a generous combat for truth, notwith¬ 
standing the double burthen of the episcopate, and of ad¬ 
vanced age. One can see that he has purposed in this 
book to re-establish the integrity of faith and morals 
amongst the faithful, to avenge the calumnies of the wicked, 
and to scatter the darkness of error. He completely over¬ 
throws all the dreams of materialists, deists, and other 
impious men.” Pope Clement XIII was extremely grati¬ 
fied on reading our saint’s work, and he replied to the 
dedication, which had been addressed to him, by a brief, 
dated August 4th, 1769, in which the Holy Father testified 
his esteem for our bishop’s learning in very flattering terms. 

The ignorance which overspread the diocese, and the 
wish to aid the people, led Alphonsus to compose an ex¬ 
tremely useful work, at this time, which he published under 
the title of “Instructions on the precepts of the Deca¬ 
logue, in order that they may be properly kept; and on the 
sacraments, in order that they may be rightly received.” 
This treatise is short, but its great utility caused it to be 
highly prized, especially by the parish priests. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


313 


The disturbances in regard to the two houses of Uiceto 
and Ciorani went on increasing, and as the storm became 
more and more alarming, the Fathers of the Congregation 
redoubled their entreaties to Alphonsus, to go to Naples in 
person, in order to hold a conference with the Marquis 
Ta nucci. On this occasion he wrote to F. Villani: 
“Tanucci has had an interview with Mgr. Albertini; if he 
has not attached faith to this prelate’s words, he would be 
still less disposed to believe me, who am an interested 
party. If I see that I can be of any use, I will not fail to 
exert myself, .... and you ought never to fear that I 
shall neglect the least thing which I may know would be of 
use to the Congregation.” F. Villani then went to see 
him, in great sorrow, and in all haste, to inform him that 
the cause was shortly to be brought before the royal tri¬ 
bunal. At these tidings, Alphonsus sent by his secretary 
two letters, one to the Marquis of Tanucci, and the other 
to the Marquis of Marco, begging them to deign to com¬ 
mence the cause in consideration of the reasons which he 
assigned. But the tempest became still more furious; the 
alarm of the Fathers was redoubled, and F. Villani, ac¬ 
companied by some other Fathers, repaired to St. Agatha, 
and all, with tearful eyes, represented to Alphonsus their 
adversaries’ superiority, and the imminent danger which 
menaced them; adding, that if he wished to save the Con¬ 
gregation, his presence at Naples was necessary. “What 
could I do by my presence?” he replied; “that which my 
letters cannot obtain, I shall be unable to obtain myself.” - 
He was moved, however, at seeing their affliction, and ill 
as he was, he resolved to set out. All his retinue on this 
journey and all his methods of defence were masses and 
prayers; confidence in God and hope for protection from 
on high strengthened his courage. As he had no carriage, 
he borrowed one from a gentleman, and he arrived at Na¬ 
ples on the 16th of July, 1767. 

As soon as he reached Naples, he went to the Cardinal 
Archbishop. His eminence was at dinner when Mgr. Li- 
guori was announced to him; he immediately arose, and 

27 


314 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


with eyes bathed in tears through joy at this unexpected 
visit, he hastened to meet Alphonsus, and embraced him, 
saying: “ What has brought you to Naples so unexpect¬ 
edly?” “My Congregation is passing through a great 
crisis, your Eminence,” answered Alphonsus, “ our ene¬ 
mies wish to destroy it, but I hope that God will grant us 
the assistance of his arm.” Before he left, the Cardinal 
said to him, “Know that you are Archbishop of Naples; 
you must obtain the victory and dispose of every thing as you 
wish.” Mgr. Liguori’s arrival put the whole town in motion. 
The canons, the superiors of the orders, the chevaliers and 
ministers came to greet him. Almost all the prelates who 
were in Naples went to visit him. As for himself, as he 
had only come for urgent business, he begged every one to 
excuse him if he reluctantly failed in the duties of civility. 

Humility and poverty were his attendants; he lived in his 
brother’s house, but he did not wish to be treated with dis¬ 
tinction; and he gave up the room and state-bed which his 
brother had had prepared for him to his secretary, and se¬ 
lected for himself quite a plain little apartment, which was 
used as a lumber-room, and had nothing in it but a miser¬ 
able bed, and some straw chairs. When he had not to 
officiate in any church, he merely put on the cassock of his 
Congregation which he had worn every day at St. Agatha, 
and which was then quite worn out. His shoes were the 
same he had had made when he went to Rome; he had the 
same hat, too, which was now no longer in fashion, and 
which had only cost three carlins when new. His brother, 
D. Hercules, who was more annoyed at the hat than at 
any thing else, secretly took it away and substituted a valu¬ 
able one in its place. Alphonsus was very sorry to be 
obliged to wear it, but before he left Naples he caused 
it to be sold, and with the proceeds he bought four more 
common hats; he kept one for himself, and gave the re¬ 
maining three to some of his Congregation. As he had 
no cloak, he made use of a kind of mantilla; but bein^ 
told that it was not fit for him, he sent it to a pawnbroker 
in exchange for an old cloak. Some people gave him the 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


315 


title of Excellency. “ Excellency,” said Alphonsus, “what 
do you mean by this title? Drop this excellency.” He 
had a singular altercation with a servant in a monastery, on 
this head, who was continually addressing him by this title. 
“Come now,” said Alphonsus, “give up this word ex¬ 
cellency.” “But,” replied the servant, “why am I not to 
call you thus? you are a chevalier, and this title belongs to 
you.” “That is enough,” replied his lordship, “do not 
speak to me any more about your excellency.” He said 
this in a tone which made the poor servant hurry to the 
door as fast as possible. A gentleman observing to him 
that he carried humility too far: “Humility,” Alphonsus 
replied, “has never injured any one.” 

Our saint was always preceded by humility, but glory 
and veneration followed him wherever he went. When he 
went to the royal palace, to implore the protection of the 
Prince della Riccia, his majesty’s grand equerry, he was 
received there not as a mere man but as a messenger from 
heaven. As soon as the prince heard that he was in the 
ante-room, he hastened to go to him, and respectfully kissed 
his hand, and when Alphonsus took leave of him he ac¬ 
companied him to the staircase with affectionate kindness. 
“ I thank God,” exclaimed the prince on leaving him, “for 
having allowed me to see this saintly man once more.” 
The same or similar marks of veneration were given him 
by the highest personages he had occasion to visit. This 
veneration was much increased by the manner in which he 
defended the causeof his children. He managed to justify 
the missionaries and defend their innocence without injuring 
those who had calumniated them. He attributed their at¬ 
tacks to interest, and their irritation to passionate temper, 
and he only sought to procure tranquillity to those belonging 
to him, and to obtain the prince’s protection for the Con¬ 
gregation. Alphonsus’ very appearance at Naples put the 
adversaries of the Congregation to confusion ; even their 
counsel said that the case had an altered aspect, and the 
advocates, who, till then, believed that they were sure of 
victory and sought to have the cause brought on, tried now 


316 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


to delay it, and would have liked to suspend it altogether, 
no longer thinking it expedient to venture further. This 
delay displeased Alphonsus, and by his solicitations with 
the ministers he obtained the king’s leave to have the 
affair terminated without loss of time, and the 11th of 
September was fixed for the discussion of the cause of 
Sarnelli, at the royal court of St. Clare. It was at this 
time that our saint met with an accident, which one is 
tempted to consider the work of the devil, who foreseeing 
his defeat, wished to cause Alphonsus to perish. He was 
one day in a carriage with the counsellor, Gaetan Celano ; 
night was approaching, and the rain was falling in torrents, 
their coachman urged the horses on as fast as possible to¬ 
wards the court of counsellor Pirelli in order to gain 
shelter, but other carriages had already taken refuge there 
and he was obliged to turn back; at that moment, another 
carriage came up at a rapid rate, and struck with such vio¬ 
lence against that of Alphonsus that in the fall he was 
thrown under the counsellor. The windows were broken 
to pieces, and the coachman was wounded as well as the 
footman. Alphonsus was not seriously hurt, but the coun¬ 
sellor had his hand cut; they both disengaged themselves 
from the carriage, but with great difficulty, and took refuge 
in a grocer’s shop more dead than alive. The duchess of 
Pirelli heard of the accident, and sent for Alphonsus and 
the counsellor; they rested in her palace for some time, 
after which the duchess lent them her own equipage to take 
them home again. In this disaster Alphonsus regretted 
nothing but his beautiful hat, which was lost in the con¬ 
fusion as well as the wooden stick which he used as a cane. 

The proceedings in reference to the cause were at length 
commenced, but the advocates of the adverse party had not 
the courage to show themselves. One of them indeed 
came, but it was only to declare that he had not the heart 
to speak against a bishop whose sanctity was proclaimed 
by all Naples. Our enemies’ inaction was displeasing to 
Alphonsus; he sent his secretary to the President Cito, to 
complain of this disappointment. “ He need not be an« 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


317 


noyed at seeing his enemies put to flight,” replied the 
magistrate, “ let him take courage, and return to his dio¬ 
cese.” Such was Alphonsus’ success in this visit to Na¬ 
ples. He took leave of all his acquaintances, after a sojourn 
of two months and three days, and set out for Arienzo on 
the 10th of September, 1767. 

Although Alphonsus only went to Naples on account of 
the interests of his Congregation, he nevertheless made his 
visit subserve the glory of God, and fatal to sin and hell. 
Great disorders had taken place in the convent called “of 
the Religious of the Wood.” These nuns, without respect 
for the Superior, who tried to unite them, had proceeded 
to sad lengths on several occasions. Being entreated to 
lend his aid, Alphonsus went to the convent several times 
and preached there, and that which others had not been 
able to effect by their words, was obtained by his humility 
and mildness. He put an end to all the dissensions which 
existed in the convent, and was able to re-establish there 
peace, the love of prayer, and the frequent use of the 
sacraments. 

The Superior of the Congregation of the Propaganda re¬ 
solved to ask him to preach the Novena of the Assumption 
of the Blessed Virgin, in the church of the Restitution. 
The canon fearing that Alphonsus would not be able to 
grant his request, (as he was ill, and overloaded with busi¬ 
ness,) it was observed to him, that he had an infallible means 
of obtaining what he wanted, viz: his authority as Supe¬ 
rior; Alphonsus being yet a member of the Congregation. 
When the humble bishop received this order, he made no 
opposition, but bent his head and said: “ Pray that the 
Blessed Virgin may give me strength, for I have nothing 
written, and no time to prepare any thing ; you must be 
satisfied with what God and the Blessed Virgin may deign 
to suggest to me.” 

One evening during this Novena, our Saint was obliged 
to go to the Archbishop’s, but the carriage, the one which 
D. Gaetan had bought, had been sent to be repaired; the 
servant took another, belonging to D. Hercules, which 
27* 


318 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


was rich and handsome. Such luxury alarmed the Saint, 
and nothing could reconcile him to it. In order to pre¬ 
vent his going on foot, old harness was put on the 
horses, and an old covering was put over the seat; which 
mixture of old and new together caused the Bishop of St. 
Agatha to present a somewhat singular appearance, but 
satisfied his humility. During the Novena, the church was 
crowded to overflowing, from the first day, and he preached 
with such wonderful effect, that floods of tears were shed 
in the church, and his Eminence, Cardinal Sersale, who 
made it a duty to assist at this Novena daily with his suite, 
could not refrain from weeping at the touching spectacle 
of an entire people in contrition. Canon Sparano declared, 
that ten missions would not have done so much good nor 
have effected so many conversions, as God did during this 
Novena through Mgr. Liguori. Again, on this occasion, 
pieces of his garments were taken from him in secret; 
amongst others a piece of his cloak was cut off. Mgr. 
Bergamo, at that time a priest and afterwards Bishop 
of Gaeta, thought himself very fortunate in being able to 
take his hat in exchange for another. He attempted the 
same thing with his rosary, but Alphonsus found it out; 
ihe complained of it, and wished to have it restored to him 
regain on account of the indulgences attached to it. 

On the Eve of the Assumption, he went to pay his visit 
'to the Blessed Sacrament in the church of the convent Re¬ 
gina Cceli; while the nuns were chanting vespers, he knelt 
• down before a chair in a corner of the church. Three 
abbots were officiating pontifically; one of them, who knew 
'him, no sooner saw him in his shabby dress than he turned 
towards the others and said: “ Look what a figure this 
bishop is! does he not disgrace his character!” The abbot 
soon found that he was not a good judge. The Prince of 
Monte Miletto who was present, also saw Alphonsus, and 
immediately asked his valet who that Prelate was; on hear¬ 
ing that it was Mgr. Liguori, he approached him respect¬ 
fully, kissed his hand, and held it to his forehead for some 
time. The Duke of Andria also presented himself to him, 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


319 


or rather cast himself at his feet, and would not consent to 
arise until after he had received the sign of the cross on his 
head ; some other noblemen also hastened to render him 
the same homage. The abashed abbots then sent him a 
velvet cushion by the sacristan, but Alphonsus would not 
use it. 

When the barefooted Carmelite Fathers commenced the 
solemnity of the Wednesdays in honor of St. Theresa, Al¬ 
phonsus did not fail to attend, and mixing with the people, 
he placed himself according to custom on one of the benches 
in the church. When the Fathers perceived him they 
wished to show him some token of respect, but Alphonsus 
refused it. On the following Wednesday they prepared a 
special chair with a velvet cushion for him, but in vain, 
for he made no use of it. 

Alphonsus had the gift of prophecy, as well as those of 
knowledge and counsel. A daughter of the Duchess of 
Bovino, who was on the point of leaving a convent, in 
order to embrace the state of marriage, still hesitated in 
regard to her vocation; the duchess went to Alphonsus 
and begged him to remember her in his prayers. “No, 
no;” replied he, “she will not marry. God will detach 
her from the world and draw her to himself.” The young 
lady’s mind, up to this time, had been occupied about any¬ 
thing rather than becoming a religious; her mother was 
therefore much surprised to hear these words from the 
saintly man, but she was still more so when, on her return 
home, a note was handed to her from her daughter, stating 
her intention of taking the religious habit in the convent. 

Lady Marianne Cayano Orsini gave birth to a son at 
Marianella about this time. D. Hercules wished that the 
ceremony of baptism should be performed by Alphonsus 
himself, to which he assented. During the ceremony, the 
priest, in addressing Alphonsus, gave him the title of Ex¬ 
cellency, at every instant; he bore it at first, in order not 
to interrupt the ceremony, but at last he could endure it 
no longer, and exclaimed: “Rev. Sir, if you wish to call 
me most illustrious, you can of course do so, but you will 


320 


LIFE OP ST. ALPHONSUS. 


oblige me very much by only using the most simple ex¬ 
pressions in speaking to me.” 

Besides the Novena of which we have spoken, Alphon- 
sus also preached a sermon in the church of the Advocate, 
for the confraternity of the coachmen, footmen, and other 
domestics. His dear brethren of the chapels, amongst 
whom was the celebrated Peter Barberese, his former peni¬ 
tent, also heard his holy exhortations once more ; he re¬ 
joiced in thus being employed for the good of the poorest 
and most obscure. A head saddler also begged him to 
come and preach in his chapel, which was situated beyond 
the gate of Capua, and he went there most willingly. He 
found a very large assemblage of the lower classes, but as 
the chapel could not hold them all, he re-assembled them 
all in the church of St. Onuphrius. These good people 
assembled together on another occasion, in the hospital 
of the Annunziata; the Blessed Sacrament was exposed 
on both occasions, and he exhorted them all to the prac¬ 
tice of Christian virtue. He was also asked to preach 
to them on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, and he 
yielded to their wishes. On the following Sunday he 
preached to the orphans who were brought up in this 
hospital, amounting to the number of more than three 
hundred. 

The people were not satisfied with profiting by his 
words in church, but they hastened in crowds to his house, 
and as he had not chairs enough for all, they sat on the 
ground. He rejoiced in being in the midst of this multi¬ 
tude of poor people much more than in receiving the 
visits of priests, confessors, magistrates, the knights of St. 
Januarius, the Duchesses, Princesses, and the many others, 
who not being able to speak to him in the confessional, 
came to see him, and left him no moment of leisure time 
until a late hour in the evening; and his loving kindness 
towards these poor people won him the admiration of 
all the town of Naples, not less than the fact, that, not¬ 
withstanding his advanced age, his infirmities, and the im-. 
portant affairs that had brought him to Naples, he under- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


321 


wont so much fatigue for the glory of God and the good 
of souls. He visited also the convents of Donna Alvina, 
of St. Clare, of Sapienza, of St. Marcellinus, of St. Gau- 
dioso, of St. Liguori, of the Blessed Sacrament, of St. 
Jerome, of Little St. John’s, of Donna Romita, of St. Po- 
titus, of St. Andrew’s, of the Nuns, and others. He 
preached in each of them, and returned several times to 
some of them to hear confessions. Being invited, on the 
feast of St. Jane de Chantal, to the convent of the Nuns 
of the Visitation, he went with pleasure and preached 
' there. Nothing, in a word, whereby he could encourage 
hearts in the practice of virtue and the love of Jesus Christ, 
was accounted by him as too much. 

In all this he never deviated from his profound humility, 
and though the Cardinal had told him that he was Arch¬ 
bishop of Naples, he never did anything without informing 
his eminence. A religious asked him one day to hear her 
confession. He immediately sent to ask for the faculty to 
do so from the Cardinal, who replied half displeased : 
“What does Mgr. Liguori want? Did I not tell him that 
he was Archbishop of Naples? He may confirm, confess, 
preach, and officiate, and do whatever he pleases, for he 
has power to do anything?” 

Besides the prophecy mentioned above, he made several 
others in regard to inmates of convents, of which we will 
only cite the following. Alphonsus’ sister, Marianne Li¬ 
guori, a nun in the convent of St. Jerome, manifested a 
want of submission towards her director; Alphonsus pre¬ 
dicted that she would die mad, and it speedily came to 
pass. The Princess Zurlo, a pensioner at the convent of 
St. Marcellinus, had an earnest desire to become a reli¬ 
gious; when this young lady’s fervor was mentioned to 
him, he answered: “No, she will not be a nun, but she 
will return to the world, and lead a saintly life there.” 
And his words proved to be true. At St. Clare, a nun 
tried to interest him in a niece of hers, whom she wished 
to get admitted in the convent, although she had already 
left it, “Leave her alone/’ said he, “she is not fit for a 


322 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


convent.” And so it was; she no longer wished to con¬ 
secrate herself to God. 

Alphonsus made no distinction of persons; he acted 
just in the same manner towards the convents of women 
of no rank as towards those of women of noble birth. He 
willingly consented to go and visit the convents of the 
Little Rosary, of St. Margaret, of St. Monica, of the Mira¬ 
cles, of Jesus and Mary, of St. Catherine, of St. Joseph, and 
of St. Theresa; of St. Philip and St. James also, where 
he gave a sermon on the prodigal son: and his visits were 
always marked by great blessings, as God assisted his 
efforts. He also preached several times at the Refuge of 
St. Clare, and visited the penitents of St. Raphael, as also 
those of the Crucifix; it was especially edifying to see him 
return from the most humble and despised places, with still 
more pleasure than from the convents for the nobility. 

He did not omit to go and comfort a great many infirm 
nuns, and particularly his old penitents. He evinced his 
scrupulosity in regard to holy modesty, during these visits. 
In order to prevent his hands from being kissed, he kept 
his left across his breast and wrapped up the other in a 
handkerchief. When asked to make the sign of the cross 
on a sick person’s forehead, he only consented to give her 
his blessing from a distance, and whenever he entered a 
convent he wished to be accompanied by a priest, to help 
him, as he said, but in reality as a precaution; nor did he 
ever omit to provide himself with hair shirts and iron 
chains, and to discipline himself to blood. 

He also accepted several invitations from different reli¬ 
gious societies. The Missionaries of St. Pavone, now call¬ 
ed, “of the Conference,” wished to hear him speak at one 
of their assemblies, as a fellow-member. Alphonsus spoke 
to them of the zeal which every priest ought to have for the 
salvation of souls, exhorted them to preach in an apostolic 
style, and declaimed against a far-fetched style. “ This is 
indeed a true apostle,” said they, “ thanks be to God for 
having given us a bishop of primitive times in this age.” 
Cardinal Sersale, also, wished the fervor of the young peo- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


323 


pie of the establishment which he had himself founded for 
the instruction of young clerics in sacris in the exercises of 
the Mission, to be animated by the words of our Saint. 
He conducted Alphonsus thither, and, concealing his own 
hands under his arms, made all the young people kiss 
the bishop of St. Agatha’s hand, despite his humility. 
Alphonsus spoke to them on the practice of sacerdotal 
virtues, and incited them to devote themselves zealously 
to the salvation of souls, and to be filled with love to 
Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin. Visits which were 
only of compliment and useless, he tried alw-ays to avoid. 
The nuns of Little St. John, not satisfied with having seen 
him at the grate and with having assisted at his mass, soli¬ 
cited him, through F. Fatigati, to repeat his visit; as this, 
however, was not in order to consult him as their director, 
he did not accede to their invitation, but answered: “ I like 
much to go to St. John, but not to Little St. John’s; they 
have caused me to lose an hour, and I am scrupulous about 
time.” Although Alphonsus effected so much good in 
Naples, and although his presence there drew dowm so 
many blessings, he never ceased to grieve at being so far 
from his diocese, but counted the moments, and only longed 
to return. “If it were not on account of the interests of 
the Congregation which is persecuted,” he said, “and 
which labors so successfully for God’s glory and the salva¬ 
tion of souls, I should believe that I sinned mortally in 
remaining so long at Naples.” It must not, however, be 
believed that he ever lost sight of the wants of his diocese. 
Not a day passed on which he did not receive some courier 
from thence. Being again asked for a Novena, he re¬ 
plied : “What Novena do you wish me to give r I will go 
and make one in my diocese, where God only knows what 
disorders I shall find. Jesus Christ no longer wishes me 
to be at Naples, but at St. Agatha.” 

Let us give one more instance of Alphonsus’ humility, 
while in the capital. He went to visit the Prince della 
Riccia, to get, through his protection, a woman, a servant 
of the Prince’s, admitted into the Refuge of St. Raphael; 


324 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


but the valet remembered that he had received nothing from 
Alphonsus on his first visit to the Prince, so he said that 
the Prince was in attendance on the Kino-. A soldier of 

o 

the Italian guard, who was on duty, said to a comrade, on 
seeing this old man, whose Iona beard and neglected ex- 
terior seemed unsuitable to his dignity as a bishop, “Look 
at this shabby lord. He has not a half-penny to be shaved.” 
Alphonsus heard it and smiled. “ I thank thee, 0 my 
God,” he said, “ for causing me also to receive the censure 
of the soldiers.” But the guard was soon undeceived 
when he saw the first noblemen hasten to pay their re¬ 
spects to the holy bishop. He returned a second time to 
the Prince’s palace, and was again dismissed, on some 
other pretext; he then went a third time, when, on the 
advice of his secretary, who suspected the real cause of 
the mystery, he slipt some money into the valet’s hand, and 
the Prince was made visible. Angry at the refusals which 
Alphonsus had met with, he offered to provide for all need¬ 
ful expenses in regard to the penitent woman, and in¬ 
formed the director of the house that she was one of his 
tenants; nothing further was required for her admission, 
and Alphonsus had the consolation to see one more of his 
sheep in a place of safety. 

When he left Naples at last, it was with the firm resolu¬ 
tion, if we should not rather call it a prediction, that he 
would not return there any more. When he visited, for 
the last time, his dear Mother, in the church of the Re¬ 
demption where he had received so many graces, he said 
to her: “ My Queen, we shall see each other again in Par¬ 
adise, but we shall meet no more in Naples.” “Tell D. 
Hercules,” he wrote from St. Agatha to a brother of the 
Congregation who was in Naples, “ that he may freely dis¬ 
pose of the apartments which he keeps at my service, for 
I shall return there no more.” 

Although Alphonsus was unceasingly, and we may al¬ 
most say, excessively solicitous for the right government of 
his diocese, and though his conduct in this respect obtained 
the admiration of the most distinguished men, and the 


i 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


325 


praises of the Sovereign Pontiff, yet he could not escape 
the darts of malignity and censure. His reputation for 
sanctity caused him to be attentively watched, and as his 
administration seemed rather like that of an ano-el than of 

O 

an ordinary man, people fancied that he ought to make sin 
disappear from the world. As soon as any disorder in his 
diocese was spoken of, people began to blame and calum¬ 
niate him; for some were too ready to listen to the dis¬ 
courses of the wicked, and co-operated, through inexcusa¬ 
ble credulity, in what others did through malice. A reli¬ 
gious, at Naples, found fault with, and condemned things 
in Alphonsus which he had not seen, but of which he had 
heard; and Alphonsus, being begged to justify himself, 
answered: “I have heard of this bad opinion of me. 
There is no need of writing to him. St. Francis of Sales, 
F. Torres, arid so many others, have not defended them¬ 
selves. The three who rule, are the Grand-Vicar, who aids 
me by counsel, Archdeacon Rainone, who performs his 
duty at St. Agatha, and the Secretary, who governs still 
less.” And in another letter: “Every thing passes through 
my hands, with the single exception of the ordinary de¬ 
crees as to temporals, which are under the charge of the 
Grand-Vicar, and of my Vicar-General at St. Agatha. Tell 
me where there is a diocese in which there is nothing 
wanting. As to me, I do what I can, but all ground pro¬ 
duces its thorns; one may pluck out one here, but another 
will spring up elsewhere. I see that I cannot avoid the 
reproaches made against me; it is enough if God does not 
complain: however, complaints are of use to me, for my 
spiritual welfare, by humbling me through the contempt 
and want of favor which I must meet with from some peo¬ 
ple. I should be very glad if you would tell Father N. to 
come and see me, because he may then be enlightened as 
to the real state of things.” The good Father went to 
him, and was his panegyrist from that time. He liked 
to be told of all that was said to his dispraise, and never 
hesitated to make amends if he found he had made a 
mistake. 

28 


326 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


An idle person circulated a report through Naples, that 
they were much dissatisfied with Mgr. Liguori’s adminis¬ 
tration at Rome. It was even added that the Pope was 
very far from rejoicing at having made him bishop. When 
F. Villani informed him of this, he replied thus: “You 
say that the accusation of which you speak, may very 
probably have been made at Rome; I have heard nothing 
about it yet. For the rest, and as to the government, I 
do not know how I could have been more careful than I 
was. I always note down in writing all that has to be 
done for the present day and for the following one, and 
when any business connected with the diocese is in ques¬ 
tion, I leave every thing to occupy myself about it. All 
belonging to my diocese may see this plainly; God will do 
the rest, but this will enable me to get my resignation 
more easily accepted.” 

With an inconsistency, which is a characteristic of false¬ 
hood, others accused him of governing with too much 
rigor; but Alphonsus was certain of the good he had done, 
and cared equally little, for being thought too lenient, or 
too severe. “Human respect,” said F. Raphael de Ruvo, 
“could never succeed in influencing Mgr. Liguori.” One 
day, in presence of several gentlemen, it was said that 
people talked a great deal about a priest who, as they 
alleged, had been banished unjustly. He was guilty of 
several hidden offences, for which Alphonsus had felt con¬ 
strained to recur to this punishment, without wishing to 
publish things against him which were unknown. When 
he heard that he was censured for it, he got out of the dif¬ 
ficulty by a smile, and said nothing to exculpate himself. 
Some even in the Congregation said, that in the publica¬ 
tion of his works he sought for an uncertain good, while 
he neglected the certain good he could have effected, had 
he been exclusively engaged in the affairs of his diocese. 
Being informed of this, he wrote to F. Villani: “ In regard 
to the murmurs relative to my publications, I will say that 
those bishops who are most celebrated for their great zeal, 
preached and published works while ruling over their dio- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


327 


ceses .Iam always shut up during winter, and Con¬ 

verse with no one; besides, every one avoids my conver¬ 
sation, because it is not agreeable. I make meditation 
three times a day; I make an hour’s thanksgiving after 
mass, as well as a spiritual lecture, at least when I am at 
liberty. After that I try to profit by all the time remaining 
to me, in laboring in things which seem useful.” 

Alphonsus published, about this lime, “ The Way of Sal¬ 
vation,” which is a work of great utility for all classes of 
men. It is divided into three parts: the first contains 
meditations for all seasons of the year; the second for 
divers times in particular: and the third contains a rule of 
life for a Christian, the practice of virtue, and considera¬ 
tions on the love of Jesus Christ, entitled “Darts of Fire.” 


CHAPTER XXV. 

Alphonsus is visited by sickness and great sufferings. He 
finishes his work on Dogmatics. His Congregation is per¬ 
secuted in Sicily. His mode of life and apostolic labors 
when paralytic. Interest he takes in the education of his 
Nephews. Circular to his Congregation. His Mission¬ 
aries abandon Sicily. 

W HEN Almighty God wishes to raise one of His ser¬ 
vants to great sanctity, the usual course of His provi¬ 
dence is to throw him into a sea of troubles and sorrows. 
Alphonsus, whom God had destined to become a shining 
pillar in the heavenly Jerusalem, was also obliged to pass 
through the crucible of tribulation. On the 23d of June, 
1768, in the seventy-second year of his age, and the seventh 
of his episcopate, he was attacked by a fever, which at first 
seemed so slight that it was believed to be only the conse¬ 
quence of a cold; but it increased on the second and third 
day, and made such progress that it was taken for a danger¬ 
ous putrid fever. However it disappeared three day after¬ 
wards, and, contrary to all expectation, he was attacked by 



328 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


acute pains in the right side. The doctors called it the com¬ 
mencement of sciatica, arising from rheumatic tendencies; 
in fact he experienced constant pain in the bone of the 
thigh, these however were not very severe. 

As he had no fever, and his head was free, he never 
ceased to give audience, nor interrupted his scientific and 
spiritual occupations. Not being able to visit his diocese 
himself, he sent his Grand-Vicar into the estates of Trasso 
and Arpaja, as well as to the village of Forchia. “I con¬ 
tinue,” he wrote to F. Villani, “to be tormented with in¬ 
ternal pains in nearly one-half of my body, and it seems 
as if the pain would fix in the hip bone. Blessed for ever 
be God for having sent me this suffering ! I shall have 
difficulty in going out, this year, to make my accustomed 
visitation.” On the approach of the feast of the Assumption, 
he tried to give the Novena, in the church of the Annun- 
ziata; and, notwithstanding his suffering, he succeeded in 
crawling into the pulpit: but the pain ere long seized him 
in a most violent manner, and fixed itself obstinately in 
the hip bone, so as to render it impossible for him to go 
on, and a Neapolitan missionary, who had accompanied 
him, took his place on the sixth day. From this time, the 
malady made such progress that he no longer knew in 
what position to place himself: in this state, he was un¬ 
ceasingly occupied in his bed about the affairs of his dio¬ 
cese ; he dictated his works, and continued to perform with 
the members of his household all the accustomed exercises. 

However, the fever went on increasing day by day, so 
that fears were entertained for his life. When it was pro¬ 
posed to him to send for a doctor from Naples, he replied: 
“Do you, then, think that the doctors in Naples work mira¬ 
cles, or that they have studied other books than the doctors 
here? I am in the hands of God, and of the doctors he 
has given me.” His two worthy doctors, however, were 
not of the same opinion, but sent for F. Villani and the 
Grand-Vicar, and said to them: “ We do not wish to bear 
the responsibility of his lordship’s death; we want to have 
a consultation.” A physician was therefore summoned 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


329 


from Naples. Alphonsus said nothing on seeing him, but 
his face betokened the suffering of his heart. 

He affected every one, while in this state, by his ejacu¬ 
lations of love towards Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin. 
He showed great confidence in their merits, but seemed 
quite confounded at his own conduct, which, he said, had 
not corresponded to their goodness. A Father of the Con¬ 
gregation was just going to say mass, when he called him, 
and said with a profound sentiment of humility: “Pray 
that God may deign to be merciful towards me.” Although 
he had confidence, he still trembled in thinking of the 
judgments of God. “Non intres in judicium cum servo 
tuo,”he repeated, and, “faccum servo tuo secundum mise- 
ricordiam tuam.” “ Enter not into judgment with Thy 

servant, O Lord.Do unto Thy servant according to 

Thy mercy.” 

After receiving the last Sacraments on the 26th of Au¬ 
gust, 1768, he made his will. He would not have had 
matter for one, if his steward had not received four hundred 
and twenty-three ducats, some days before, arising from 
the rents belonging to him. He wished this sum to be 
placed in the hands of the Arch-priest Romano, and fixed 
on the number of masses to be celebrated for him at Ari- 
enzo, and at St. Agatha; he pointed out what alms he 
wished to be given to the poor, and ordered that the sur¬ 
plus should be distributed to all who were in his service, as 
a token of gratitude, two hours after his death; finally, 
he asked that his body should be taken to the Cathedral of 
St. Agatha. 

The fever, however, visibly abated, although the suffer¬ 
ings were still very sharp. The pains, too, caused by the 
rheumatism were violent and continual, so that he could 
find no position in which he could lie in bed, and was 
obliged, though with great difficulty, to get into an arm¬ 
chair, where he remained as if nailed down by his suffer¬ 
ings. It is easy to imagine how he passed the nights and 
days, as he could neither move, nor dress himself; his 
state caused all who saw him to shed tears of compassion. 

28 * 



330 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


The rheumatism was constantly making fresh progress, and 
from the hip bone soon reached the leg, and extended 
through the nerves of the limbs, which caused a great in¬ 
crease of pain. He bore it with unalterable patience: no 
groan ever issued from his lips, but that which filled up the 
measure of admiration in regard to him, was that he never 
ceased to be still occupied with the affairs of his diocese. 
The following are some of the lirely aspirations collected 
by one who attended on him : “ Lord, I thank Thee for 
having given me some share in the sufferings Thou didst 
endure in Thy nerves, when Thou wast nailed to the cross. 
I wish to suffer, my Jesus, as Thou wiliest, and as much 
as Thou wiliest, only give me patience.” “ Hie ure, hie 
seca, hie non parcas, ut in aeternum parcas.” “ Unhappy 
damned souls! how can you suffer without merit ? My Je¬ 
sus, my hope, the only remedy for all my ills.” “ Oh, how 
happy a thing it is to die, fastened to the cross.” “A 
poor person who loves God, dies more contented than all 
the rich in the world. An hour of suffering is worth more 
than all the treasures of the earth.” “ I should like to 
have a little sleep, but God does not will it, and I do not 
wish it either.” “Oh, my palliass! thou art worth more 
for one day than all the thrones of the world.” 

At last, the rheumatism settled in the vertebrae of his 
neck, and his head was so bent forwards, and rested so 
much on his chest, that on looking at him from behind he 
appeared like a body without a head. “ Nothing but a 
miracle,” said a doctor, “ could have prevented this curva¬ 
ture from taking away respiration altogether.” But even 
this was only a part of his martyrdom. In consequence of 
this displacement of the head, his chin sank down into the 
middle of his chest, and his beard being strong and bristly 
caused a considerable wound there. This could not be 
seen, and he bore it without any complaint; it did not at 
first attract attention, but the humor, which soon issued 
from it, caused the doctors to entertain the most lively 
fears; they wanted to raise his head in order to examine it, 
but Alphonsus was obliged to raise his hand, as a sign for 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


331 


them to desist, for any force used in that direction would 
have broken his neck. They then placed him on a sofa, 
in a horizontal position, and thus they were able to exam¬ 
ine the wound. It was so deep and dangerous, that it had 
very nearly laid bare the bone of the chest. They, how¬ 
ever, succeeded in preventing mortification, and it was 
soon completely healed. 

He began to get better at the end of a few months, but 
the malignant humor settled on the nerves, the body was 
contracted, and his head rested on his chest during the 
seventeen years he lived after this. During the course of 
this cruel malady he evinced superhuman patience : “ Mgr. 
Liguori,” said F. Raphael de Ruvo, the ex-provincial of 
the religious of St. Peter of Alcantara, “ was a true picture 
of the saintly Job. Though having become, as it were, one 
mass of pains, lie never opened his mouth to utter even 
the slightest complaint. One look raised up to heaven 
with some pious aspiration, was the sign of his suffering; 
he still expressed himself so calmly that he consoled and 
confounded me, as well as all who were present.” One 
of the first surgeons of the capital, having witnessed his 
patience at Arienzo, said: “If I had had to endure such 
torments, I should have become frantic.” He could not 
conceive how the Saint had been able to preserve unalter¬ 
able serenity in the midst of such terrible sufferings. 

At length the invalid was placed on a poor mattress, 
though not without great suffering, on which he lay in an 
uneasy and painful position. It was not without difficulty 
that they succeeded in putting on his cassock, and as he 
could not undress himself, he remained in this garb night 
and day, and in the same position. In all these pains, he 
showed the truth of St. Augustine’s words, that he who loves, 
does not suffer, and wishes to suffer more. “ He was fixed 
on his poor bed,” said a canon of Avella, “once, while I 
was arranging the sheets with Brother Francis Anthony, I 
saw that he had his large rosary by him, and that there were 
as many holes in his flesh as there were beads in it. As I 
attributed this to accident, I told the brother to take it away. 


332 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


But he answered in a way which made me understand that 
this servant of God was not satisfied with only bearing his 
infirmity, but sought to crucify himself still more.” His 
submission to the doctors was no less admirable. “ Let 
us obey them,” he often said, “and resign ourselves 
to die.” They had scarcely spoken when they were 
obeyed; however painful or disagreeable the prescribed 
remedy might have been, he took it, not through a wish 
to prolong life, but because he recognized God’s will in 
theirs. One day he said to one of the doctors: “I am 
nothing but an old man now, what can I hope for, or 
aspire to? I obey, in order to fulfil your will and that of 
God.” He was not only contented and serene, but he 
carried his heroism so far as to be quite joyous. One day 
he said to the same doctor: “You endeavor to hold me 
up, by means of props and stays, but if you happen to put 
a new prop some day, and raise it up too much, all the rest 
will fall, and you will lose your trouble.” A priest once 
asked him how he had passed the night: “I chase flies by 
day,” he replied laughingly, “ and I take spiders by night.” 
“ There,” said he to a canon, slightly moving his head, 
“ that is the ne plus ultra, my head can do no more.” 
Another time he said to the same canon : “ They have so 
often called me crippled, that I am caught at last.” 

Although reduced to this state of infirmity, he never dis¬ 
pensed himself from any of his exercises of piety. In the 
evening, especially, he wished all his household to come 
to his room, together with the Grand-Vicar, to recite the 
Rosary together, with the Litanies of the Blessed Virgin, 
and the other accustomed prayers. He passed nearly the 
whole day in hearing some spiritual reading, which was 
made for him alternately by Brother Anthony and the 
priest who attended him. Neither did he, in this state of 
oppression, forget his flock, but dictated, ordered, and did 
every thing as if he had been quite well. Thus he caused 
several noblemen to be written to, touching the reform of 
abuses, and addressed some Congregations at Naples, and 
F. Villani, in order to obtain Missionaries, that year, for 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


333 


all his diocese. “ That which most astonished me,” said 
a canon, “ was, that he not only never ceased to watch 
and labor for the good of souls and the glory of Jesus 
Christ, during this excess of suffering, but that he also did 
so beyond the bounds of the province. Having been in¬ 
formed that a bishop had been guilty of an abuse, which 
was most prejudicial to souls, he hastened to dictate a let¬ 
ter, which he sent by an express, to inform him of his 
error, after which he turned towards me and said: ‘My 
dear Benedict, we are obliged mutually to aid each other.’ ” 

It was on this bed of pain that he revised, for the last 
time, a great work which he published, entitled “The 
Practice of Love towards Jesus Christ.” It manifests the 
sentiments of his heart, and every where breathes the spirit 
of the pious author, showing the necessity, and teaching 
the way, of loving Jesus Christ our God, who ought to be 
the sole object of the affections of our hearts, and to whom 
all the actions of our life should be referred. 

The convalescence of Alphonsus was very painful, and 
lasted more than a year. “ I continue to be without fever,” 
he wrote to F. Villani, on the 8th of October, 1768, “but 
the pain is just the same. They make me walk about on 
crutches, supported however by two people, and this is the 
sixth day since I began to do this; but I do not see that 
this or the carriage does me any good. Iam awake nearly 
all the night; nature feels it, but I think that my will is 
resigned to that of God. Remember me during mass, that 
God may give me perfect resignation.” And, on the 2d of 
November, “ I am in a state which renders me incapable of 
moving, and fever attacks me from time to time. How¬ 
ever, my head is clear, and by God’s grace, I am cheerful 
and resigned.” 

At this time, a learned man of Naples published a treatise 
against the authority of the Church, and particularly against 
her privileges; Alphonsus, though in the midst of such 
sufferings, did not hesitate to enter the lists. He prepared 
the manuscript of a refutation, and he would have finished 
it, but on account of several circumstances, and on the 


334 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


advice of F. Villani, he did not think fit to put the finish¬ 
ing stroke to it. During this convalescence, he also com¬ 
posed and published a treatise on the ceremonies of mass, 
expounding most clearly all the rubrics to be observed, and 
urging upon all priests the necessity of making that pre¬ 
paration and thanksgiving which are required by so august 
a mystery. Whilst he was bringing out this treatise, he 
received a dissertation against the fees for masses, which 
was written in an angry spirit, and published at Naples. 
The author, who wished to abolish masses and the ec¬ 
clesiastical state altogether, pretended to demonstrate the 
great disorders, as he said, the sins of simony, the sacri¬ 
leges, and the scandals which result from the retributions 
which priests receive from masses. In conclusion he pro¬ 
posed that paid masses should be abolished altogether, and 
that the custom of the primitive ages should be re-establish- 
hed, of having but one mass, and that the oblations should 
be made, as formerly, for the support of the priest, and for 
the wants of the Church and the poor. Alphonsus zealously 
took up arms and published a learned reply, in which he 
refutes the impious doctrine of the anonymous author by 
the true Catholic doctrine. He added this refutation to the 
aforesaid treatise, of which it forms the third part. 

When his Holiness, Pope Clement XIII, passed to a 
better world, Alphonsus never ceased to pray fervently that 
God would deign to grant a worthy Pastor to His Church, 
and immediately enjoined on all priests that the prayer pro 
eligendo summo Pontijice, should be recited in the diocese, 
and he recommended this matter to all who came to see him. 
“After God,” he said, “is the Pope.” When Clement 
XIV ascended the pontifical throne on the 19th of May, 
1769, Alphonsus rejoiced greatly on hearing that the elec¬ 
tion had fallen on a prelate who was so full of knowledge 
and zeal. In spite of all the sufferings which had come 
upon him, he succeeded in finishing his work on dogmatics, 
which was extracted from the Council of Trent, and against 
the pretended Reformers, and he hastened to dedicate it 
to the newly elected Pontiff. This work is one of singular 

'-s- J ° 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


335 


merit, and was applauded even beyond the borders of 
Italy. The Pope received with pleasure, this new evidence 
of the zeal of the indefatigable bishop in propagating the 
knowledge of true religion amongst unbelievers and moral- 
ity amongst Catholics, to the latter of whom is also shown 
in this work what attachment they owe to the holy faith 
they profess. The Pope manifested his satisfaction to him, 
and thanked him kindly in a brief. 

As afflictions are sisters, they always go together; thus 
in addition to all these anxieties and sufferings, Alphonsus’ 
heart was oppressed by other sorrows. The Congregation 
had prospered wonderfully in Sicily up to this period. 
Besides the diocese of Girgenti, the missionaries were 
welcomed in those of Messina, and Palermo. The bishops 
of Syracuse and of Massara also wished to have them, 
though they were not sufficiently numerous to satisfy all 
these demands. All this prosperity, which consoled them, 
caused the bishop of St. Agatha to reflect seriously. “If 
the works of God,” said he, “ are not contradicted, they 
are not well rooted.” “ I am rejoiced,” he wrote several 
times to F. Peter Blasucci, “ at the progress of our Con¬ 
gregation in Sicily, and am much comforted by it, but this 
universal applause makes me tremble.” But soon Al¬ 
mighty God, who willed that he should go through a mar¬ 
tyrdom of mind as well as of body, permitted a furious 
storm to be raised up against his dear children in Sicily. 

From the month of February, 1767, a Jansenist gloried 
in accusing them to the Viceroy, as men of corrupt mor¬ 
als, as followers of the Jesuits, and as relaxed probabilists. 
The calumny was a dangerous one and the missionaries 
began to be only spoken of as men unworthy of their po¬ 
sition. However, they justified themselves with so much 
energy that the minister was undeceived and assured them 
of his favor and protection. In October, 1768, Mgr. Luc- 
chesi, who had been their warm friend and benefactor, 
passed to a better world, and the Prince of Campo-Franco 
declared himself his heir, ab intestat, and pretended that 
the hundred ounces annually, which had been assigned to 


336 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


them by the defunct bishop for the work of the missions 
and for their maintenance, were not validly given, and that 
the missionaries had no power to make acquisitions. He, 
in consequenee, proceeded to sequester their revenues, 
and the Fathers, on finding themselves without provi¬ 
sions, began to make preparations for leaving Sicily. The 
tidings of these sad reverses reached Alphonsus in the 
very height of his cruel malady; he was deeply affected, 
but did not allow himself to be cast down. “ I received the 
disastrous news which you give me,” he wrote to F. Blas- 
ucci, “but I say wrongly, for nothing that God wills can 
be disastrous. He wishes to mortify us; may His name be 
praised for ever. I specially beg you not to lose confi¬ 
dence in Jesus Christ. If you are turned out of your 
house, try to procure another. It will not do to yield so 
soon; on the contrary, you must persevere till God shows 
that he He longer wills you to be at Girgenti. There will 
be fewer missions, but you will not lack a morsel of bread 
to keep up life. Wait and see what the deputies will do, 
what will be done by the new bishop; and, above all, what 
God’s will may be. I believe that God does not will the 
destruction of this house. I continue to have no use of 
my body from'head to foot, but I am contented, and bless 
God, and thank Him, for having given me peace and 
patience.” 

As Alphonsus heard that his moral theology was also 
attacked on this occasion, he sent a letter to the bishop of 
Sicily, to justify his doctrine. He also represented the 
true state of things to the Marquis of Fogliani, the Vice¬ 
roy of Palermo, and implored his protection. They both, 
in reply, did justice to his merit and eulogized his virtue 
and knowledge. 

But a new misfortune, and one more painful than the 
first, came to increase his alarm as to the fate of his chil¬ 
dren in Sicily. Mgr. Lanza, who succeeded to Mgr. Luc- 
chesi in the see of Girgenti, discovered in his seminary a 
traitor, who was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and sought to 
corrupt both the doctrine and the morals of this holy spot. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


337 


He was a chaplain belonging to the Cathedral, and profes¬ 
sor of the Holy Scriptures, and gloried in publishing that 
the Jansenists were the true disciples of St. Augustine, that 
the Holy Roman Church was contrary to this holy doctor, 
and that in condemning the doctrine of Quesnel she con¬ 
demned the doctrine of this and the other holy Fathers, 
and that the bull Unigenitus was impious. The new bishop 
no sooner heard of his blasphemies than he dismissed him, 
and suspended his faculties as a confessor. Now from the 
time of his arrival at Girgenti, the bishop had chosen F. 
Blasucci for his confessor and theologian, hence the chap¬ 
lain thought that this blow could only have come to him 
through the means of this Father. Though it was the 
masters of the seminary and the pupils themselves who 
had complained of him, yet his suspicions appeared to 
have some foundation, and not being able to lay the blame 
on the bishop, he thought he had better turn his weapons 
against the missionaries; and, as his own disgrace had be¬ 
fallen him on account of his doctrine, he tried to assail 
that held by them. He won over several important per¬ 
sonages to his party, and, after having obtained fourteen 
certificates, he went to Palermo, in February, 1769, and 
presented himself to the royal junta of the president and 
to the Viceroy, as having been persecuted by the mission¬ 
aries on account of his doctrine having been in opposition 
to that they had spread to the prejudice of souls and of 
the stale. 

Mgr. Lanza hastened to represent to the viceroy and the 
junta how unjust and slanderous these reports were, and 
to inform them, at the same time, of the errors of the 
plaintiff, which were rendered public by his obstinacy. 
Calumny tarnishes what it cannot blacken ; and thus, at 
Palermo, some judged well of the missionaries, others ill, 
and several hesitated about making a judgment, being em¬ 
barrassed by the falsehoods alleged against them. These 
divers sentiments engendered such a confusion, and things 
wore such an inauspicious aspect, that the suppression of 
the house of the missionaries and their departure were 
29 


338 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


talked of, to the great dismay of many pious persons, some 
of whom mortified themselves and fasted on bread and 
water, in order to avert such a calamity, while others dis¬ 
tributed abundant alms, and caused a great number of 
masses to be celebrated. 

When Alphonsus was informed of all this, he adored 
the judgments of God, and never ceased to urge the mem¬ 
bers of the Congregation to be humble and respectful to¬ 
wards all, to keep silence and to be patient, and if the 
truth was to be made known, to declare it without injuring 
those who had shown such perfidy towards them. “Your 
Reverence seems much afraid,” replied he, full of confi¬ 
dence, to one of the Fathers, “for me, I put all my trust 
in God, who will protect us, as He has always protected the 
holy Church, which has also been persecuted throughout 
all ages. Let us act as we ought towards God, and God 
will comfort us.” However, the storm becoming more 
and more threatening, in the spring of 1769, F. Blasucci 
presented a sincere but energetic explanation to the Vice¬ 
roy, in favor of the doctrine of Alphonsus and that of the 
missionaries. This apology, notwithstanding an anonymous 
address full of horrible impostures which it drew forth from 
the chaplain in whose hand it had chanced to fall, disa¬ 
bused the Viceroy and the other ministers of the monarch, 
and peace seemed fully restored to the missionaries; but it 
was only a treacherous calm, as we shall see hereafter. 

We have admired the patience with which our saint en¬ 
dured the tedious sufferings of a painful illness, and the 
energy with which he surmounted them and devoted him¬ 
self to the cares of the government of his diocese, the 
labors of controversy, and the spiritual exercises which 
he had been in the habit of performing: we shall find 
equal reason to admire the mode of life he adopted as 
soon as his state became less painful. He generally took 
only five hours of sleep. The mattress he was obliged to 
use, as he did not allow it to be shaken, was just like a 
board. Fastened down to this painful bed, he was ready 
for every thing, and occupied himself about his diocese, 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


339 


and listened to, and satisfied, every one. After the morning 
meditation he made his preparation for holy communion, 
which he never omitted, and assisted at the mass which 
was celebrated by his secretary. After his thanksgiving, 
which lasted an hour, he recited the canonical hours, 
although with great difficulty, and, in the course of the 
day, performed all his other exercises of private devotion 
at their appointed hours. He took half an hour’s rest, 
after dinner, which was his only repast; he then made a 
spiritual reading and a meditation of half an hour each, 
made a visit to the Holy Sacrament, and the Blessed Vir¬ 
gin, and recited vespers and compline; after that he gave 
audience, or began to study as in the morning. In fact, 
he lay on his little bed, surrounded by books, and. was 
occupied without any intermission. “If it has been said 
of St. Jerome,” said a venerable ecclesiastic of Naples 
who visited him, “that he triumphed over his maladies by 
not ceasing to read and write, ‘perpetua lectione et scrip- 
tione superabat;’ if there is reason to marvel at seeing all 
that St. Gregory has written, although he was infirm and in 
bad health, ‘infirma et asgra valetudineMgr. Liguori 
ought to excite still more admiration, on account of the 
numerous labors to which he devoted himself when in a 
worse state than St. Jerome and St. Gregory ever were.” 

Those who took the greatest interest in him personally, 
applied to F. Villani, to get him, in his capacity of director, 
to moderate such great application, that thereby he might 
not shorten his days. But our saint justified himself 
mildly, and replied : “Ido not think that I ought to remain 
idle. I could employ myself in reading, without dictating, 
but my head would gain nothing by that. When I have 
read for twenty minutes, or half an hour at most, I can do 
no more; besides, I do not neglect my devotions; . . . . 
but there are many days which are entirely taken up by the 
affairs of my diocese, and while the visitation I have com¬ 
menced continues, all the writings must slumber. I have 
been anxious to enter into all these details with your Rev¬ 
erence, in order to obtain your blessing.” 


340 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


To take his nourishment caused him extreme pain; he 
experienced the greatest difficulty in introducing any thing 
like food into his mouth, and could only drink by means of 
a quill. It was suggested to him to get a silver pipe made; 
but he rejected the idea with horror. At first he only made 
use of a wooden pipe, but the use of hot drinks caused seve¬ 
ral of them to split. One of the lay-brothers of the Con¬ 
gregation having manufactured another sort of pipe, it 
had to be thrown away because the rust destroyed it, al¬ 
though Alphonsus did not complain of it. Application 
was at length made to a silversmith, who made one of sil¬ 
ver, but he was obliged to pretend that it was of some other 
metal. 

He was distressed at first at not being able to visit his 
cherished sick. However, he supplied his place by priests 
and different ecclesiastics, never neglecting to supply them, 
or other poor people he heard of, with what they might 
require, by means of Br. Francis, or his servant. He 
wished to know about the state of those in greatest suffer¬ 
ing, day by day, and what they required in regard to food 
and medicine. On hearing that a poor cloistered nun had 
met with an accident which obliged her never to leave her 
chair, although she could still sew and knit, he assigned 
her an assistance of five carlins a month. 

God also aided him in the exercise of his charity, and 
several sick persons were cured through his prayers. F. 
Joseph Morgillo, of the Congregation of Pious Workmen, 
fell and broke his leg; the bone was reset, but the opera¬ 
tion did not suceeed, and he was for ten days in great suf¬ 
fering and unable to take any rest. When Alphonsus 
heard of his sad state, he sent his servant to him with a 
little picture of the Blessed Virgin, telling him to have 
confidence in her, and she would obtain his cure. The 
Father placed the picture on his face, saying: “ My Queen! 
by the merits of Mgr. Liguori, deliver me from this tor¬ 
ment,” and he was cured that very instant. F. Morgillo 
honored this picture as long as he lived, as a relic of the 
blessed bishop from whom he had received it. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


341 


Alphonsus had sold his carriage during the time of the 
scarcity, as we have already said, and had not since thought 
of procuring another; but the doctors, on seeing his body 
so paralyzed, and his mind so devoted to study, ordered 
him to take a daily drive, in order to preserve a remnant of 
life. Although he was always anxious to follow their ad¬ 
vice, he manifested indifference about it this time, and 
when the doctors and those of his own household insisted, 
he answered: “ What is the use of these drives? I am well 
enough as I am, and I do not suffer. The money which a 
carriage and horses would cost me ought to be employed 
by me in relieving the poor.” On seeing, however, the 
real necessity of his having it, Br. Francis and others re¬ 
solved to buy him a poor sort of a carriage, which, to¬ 
gether with the horses, caused an expense of one hundred 
and thirteen ducats. At first he was told that it was a pre¬ 
sent from D. Hercules, but when he knew how it was, he 
complained to Br. Tartaglione for having caused so much 
expense for these things. “You could have economized,” 
he wrote to him, “ by buying a carriage and horses of an 
inferior quality.” He also wished the horses to be treated 
and equipped in a manner conformable to his own ideas, 
that is to say, as poorly as possible; so his drives afforded 
great diversion to the gentlemen of Arienzo. “An old 
bishop,” said they, “ an old coachman, an old carriage, 
and old horses.” 

These drives, though ordered for his relief, often ended 
in being most painful to him. If the carriage met with any 
shock by coming in contact with a stone, or from any 
other cause, it was a martyrdom to Alphonsus, whose head 
was as it were dislocated by each jolt. One evening, one 
of the wheels met with such a shock that the spokes were all 
scattered about, the carriage was upset, and it was a mira¬ 
cle that he was not killed by the blow. Br. Anthony and 
the servant lifted him up in their arms with great difficulty, 
but as they were not able to bear such a weight long at a 
time, they were obliged to put him down on the road, at 
intervals; some poor women who were going home, per- 
29 * 


342 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


ceived him, and in compassion lent him a chair. On other 
occasions, a shaft or other part of the harness broke, 
and he had to wait in the middle of the street till it was 
mended. Moreover, one of the horses had a singular 
habit; after having gone through various contortions of 
the head, he would suddenly lie down, and would not get 
up again until after having been pulled by the ears for a 
long while. Several times, Alphonsus was obliged to get 
out of the carriage, in the middle of the road, and to re¬ 
main there patiently, if he could not be dragged to the 
palace, supported by those who were with him. The in¬ 
capacity of the coachman multiplied these accidents, for 
either he did not see what was in the way, or else, not 
knowing how to avoid it, he ran up against something or 
other at every step. Alphonsus was the only one who did 
not appear to suffer, and he never thought of changing the 
horses, the carriage, or the coachman. At first he went out 
in the mornings and evenings, but at a later period he only 
took his drive in the evening, and always in the country, 
to avoid the frequent meetings which interrupted him when 
driving through the town. Not to lose an instant of time, 
as soon as he was seated in the carriage, he began to recite 
an Ave Maria to the Blessed Virgin, and then said the Gloria 
Patri three times in honor of his patron-saints, and the De 
Profundis for the souls in purgatory. He had then the 
life of some saint, or some other book on ecclesiastical 
matters, read to him ; as he was a little deaf, they were 
obliged to read in a very loud tone of voice. He most 
frequently went to St. Mary de Vico, visited the Blessed 
Sacrament there, and excited the people to fervor by some 
holy exhortation. When he left the church, the book was 
re-opened and not closed again until he re-entered the 
palace court. After he had gone on with this regimen for 
nearly two years, he became scrupulous about the expense 
which the horses and coachman occasioned, and wished 
the carriage to be sold, that its value might be distributed to 
the poor. The representations of the doctors, of the Grand- 
Vicar and the whole household were useless, or moved 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


him but little; but he yielded to the command of F. Vil- 
lani. 

After the evening meditation with his household, he re¬ 
cited matins and lauds with his secretary, and then resumed 
his studies. All his household assembled again about nine 
o’clock, and recited the rosary and night prayers. The 
grand-vicar then went to supper with the rest, while Al- 
phonsus prolonged his studies until midnight, and when 
they brought him a miserable collation, which generally 
consisted of a little coffee or milk, or even of nothing but 
lemonade or pure water, he took it with the watch in hand. 
“ I have witnessed the long sufferings of the saint,” said 
F. Buonopane, “and I have admired his marvellous and 
truly Christian modesty; this appeared in things almost 
too undignified to be related ; when, for example, he went 
to bed at midnight, he took off his under garments himself, 
and after he had got into bed with great pain, he had his 
stockings pulled off, underneath the clothes.” 

The celebration of mass was the only thing wanting in 
the life of Alphonsus. This privation, and it was one 
which he felt the most, lasted for more than two years, dur¬ 
ing which time he had been obliged to be satisfied with 
receiving holy communion from the hands of the priest 
whose mass he heard. One day he related his distress to 
F. Marcorio. an Augustinian, who had come to invite him 
to preach in their church on the occasion of the feast of the 
Girdle; this Father told him that necessity dispensed him 
from the less essential parts, and that by placing himself on 
a chair he could easily take the precious blood. Alphon¬ 
sus received this advice with a transport of joy, and tried 
to put it in practice, and after two or three attempts, he 
had the exceeding consolation to celebrate on the following 
day. After vespers he went to preach at St. Augustine’s, 
and could not cease thanking him who had suggested 
such a happy expedient. From this time he celebrated 
mass every day, and obtained permission from Rome to say 
that of the Blessed Virgin at all times. As he was most 
exact in observing all the rubrics, he would bend his knee 


344 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


until he touched the platform, which rendered the genu¬ 
flexions most painful to him ; and when he wished to raise 
the knee again, it fell heavily back, and he only succeeded 
in standing up again by the aid of another person, so that 
when the mass was over, he was in a perspiration, and 
quite exhausted. But, notwithstanding, the fervor of his 
devotion was so great that he appeared like an angel, and 
when he prepared to take the precious blood, his face be¬ 
came inflamed like that of a man ravished out of himself. 
For his thanksgiving, he heard the mass of his chaplain, or 
of another priest, sitting down, but at the words “ Et incar- 
natus est,” he fell to the ground, full of compunction, and 
remained there bending profoundly; he did the same at the 
consecration, and each time he required assistance in sit¬ 
ing down again. All the time he had been unable to say 
mass, he never forgot his people, but had mass said for 
them by one or the other of the Fathers of his Congregation. 

Such was Alphonsus’ condition during all the remaining 
time of his episcopate; and, all the while, he retrenched 
none of his austerities or labors. In order to be accessible 
to all, he caused his bed to be placed in a room where every 
one might come to him, and this was his only apartment, or 
to speak more correctly, his sole apartment was his bed: ex¬ 
cept for the meditation, he had no fixed hours, and wished 
the door to be open to every body, but the poor were es¬ 
pecially privileged. Not a day passed in which he did not 
receive or dispatch several messages, either for remedy¬ 
ing some disorder or to inquire into the state of things. 
However great had been his vigilance up to this time, it ap¬ 
peared to be redoubled in these latter years, and as he who 
fears that he will not be able to attain his end hastens his 
steps in order to reach it, so Alphonsus, always imagining 
that he did not fulfil his office well, unceasingly redoubled 
his solicitude in order to accomplish his duties better. As 
soon as he heard of any disorder, he took no rest; he asked 
advice, examined into it, and provided for its removal. 
There was not a single day that he did not cause some 
priest or episcopal vicar to come to Arienzo, in order to 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


345 


become acquainted with all that could concern him. “ You 
see in what state I am,” he said to the priests, “ if you are 
not careful in informing me of all the disorders which oc¬ 
cur, you will be responsible for all the mischief, and should 
you not do so, remember that from this time I accuse you 
of them before the tribunal of God.” When he was in¬ 
formed of any abuse through the medium of some one 
else, and not by the priest, especially if this latter had kept 
silence through human respect, he lost all peace, and in 
spite of all his mildness, he never concealed from any one 
how much he felt it. 

This vigilance had for its objects, as usual, the clergy, 
the religious, and the laity; and when there was any scandal, 
and when paternal exhortations were of no avail, he had 
recourse to the help of the great, and even to that of the 
king in case of need. When any disorder was to be 
checked, he did not suffer it to be deferred until the fol¬ 
lowing day, if it could be done at once. “ He neither 
took food nor rest,” said his grand-vicar, “until he saw 
the evil cut down to the roots, and when any matter of this 
sort was in question, the only meal he took in the whole 
course of that day was the evening one.” 

He required to be informed of the way in which things 
were going on in the seminary, several times a week. He 
very often caused F. Caputo to come to Arienzo. Some¬ 
times he sent for those students whose conduct and labors 
were distinguished as being exemplary, and made them 
give an account of the conduct of the others. He was es¬ 
pecially vigilant over those who stayed at home on account 
of indisposition, taking every possible care to ascertain 
whether the necessity for thus staying away was real or 
only pretended, and he particularly recommended them to 
the care of the priests and episcopal vicars. When he re¬ 
ceived information of the misconduct of a seminarist, he 
caused him to be reproved, and if this was not followed by 
amendment, the subject was expelled ; so that the young 
pupils were much more afraid of displeasing their bishop, 
when he was paralytic and stretched on his sick bed, than 


346 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


when he was up and well. After the few first years, he 
had forbidden the vacations being passed out of the estab¬ 
lishment; but he wished that all suitable recreations should 
be afforded in the seminary, and that nothing should be 
spared which could in this respect conduce to the health 
of the pupils. The reason of this redoubled severity and 
vigilance towards the seminarists, as well as towards the 
candidates for ordination and the faculties of confessors, 
was, as he said to a canon, that he did not wish to give his 
successor occasion to weep over sin. 

He no sooner gained a little strength than he wished to 
perform also the ministry of the word, and again went about 
preaching, wherever any solemnity gave a prospect of a 
numerous audience. On account of his great infirmities, 
he required several persons to place him in the carriage, 
and to aid him in ascending the pulpit. Whilst he preached, 
his face could not be seen ; his arm only moved about to- 
wards the people; however, he went on unhesitatingly for 
hours, and it was uncertain whether his words, or the touch¬ 
ing spectacle he himself presented, were the most affecting. 
He was conducted to the church, every year, when mass 
was celebrated on Holy Saturday, after which he seated 
himself at the side of the altar, and announced the Easter 
feast to the people, endeavoring, by a picture of the resur¬ 
rection of Jesus Christ, to excite his children to rise to life 
by a spiritual resurrection, and strongly urged all those 
who had not yet fulfilled their Easter duty to comply with 
this holy command. He was particularly watchful in see¬ 
ing that the priests did not omit to instruct the people and 
catechise the children. 

He opened, in person, the Visitation, on the 2d of July, 
in the year 1769, in the collegiate church of Arienzo, being 
assisted thither and supported by his servants. It was a 
sight which caused all present to shed tears; he preached 
to the people and to the clergy, and made all the necessary 
arrangements. He also continued to visit this college and 
the adjacent villages every year himself, until 1774, a year 
before his resignation, when his state made it quite impos- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


347 


sible for him to do so. He always felt the greatest interest 
in these pastoral visitations. “ However flourishing a graft 
may be,” said he, “ if the trunk on which it is grafted is 
not pruned of its wild shoots, they will be like so many 
natural branches which will exhaust the graft. The same 
thing occurs in the culture of souls,” continued he, “if 
one does not cut away all that is wild, that is to say, all 
that nature produces of herself, the good that one has 
grafted in cannot fail to perish.” As he was unable to go 
to distant places in person, he supplied his place by the 
grand-vicar, to whom he especially commended the poor, 
the widows, and those innocent souls whom indigence ex¬ 
poses to the danger of being lost. 

As the observance of discipline in regard to the choir, 
and vestments, had suffered a little in consequence of his 
absence from the Cathedral of St. Agatha, he issued an 
edict, in 1770, renewing the ordinances he had formerly 
decreed on these subjects. He was informed that a priest 
had transgressed some of his decrees, especially in regard 
to some church furniture which he ought to have renewed, 
whereupon he sequestered twelve ducats from his income, 
in order to make these repairs, which he entrusted to the 
management of a canon. He noticed that the church of 
Bucciano was dirty and too small for the people, and, sev¬ 
eral times, let the priest know that it required to be en¬ 
larged. The priest was afraid of the trouble and expense, 
and could not resolve to commence the work, but as Al- 
phonsus thought that the holy mysteries could not be 
decently celebrated in the church, he ordered, in the visi¬ 
tation of 1773, that some adjacent ground should be 
bought within the space of one month, and he had the sat¬ 
isfaction of seeing a large edifice erected, and one worthy 
of the purpose for which it was consecrated. 

Though he had not sufficient strength to give the spiritual 
exercises to the priests and religious, as before, he assem¬ 
bled them together at his palace, and during at least three 
days, reminded them of the duties of their state. Thus 
Alphonsus, although paralytic, was always vigilant in driv- 


348 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


ing away wolves from his flock, and in procuring the 
spiritual advantage of his sheep by every possible means. 
He unceasingly fortified his people by his counsels and 
the bread of the Word, and sent zealous missionaries 
wherever he could not go himself. The zeal for the glory 
of God, which formed a chief trait in his character, actuated 
him unceasingly, up to the moment when he quitted the 
diocese. “A hundred bishops put together,” Archdeacon 
Rainone said, “ would not have done what Mgr. Liguori 
alone did, notwithstanding all his infirmities.” 

We have seen the wise counsels Alphonsus gave to his 
brother, D. Hercules, on his second marriage; he took, 
however, a still greater interest in the spiritual welfare of 
his nephews. D. Hercules had four children by his second 
wife, three boys and one daughter, and he wished Alphon¬ 
sus to be the god-father for all four. During D. Marianne’s 
first pregnancy, D. Hercules took her to Arienzo. Both 
wished that they would obtain a male child ; Alphonsus, 
however, gave a little picture of the Blessed Virgin to 
Marianne, and said : “ You will not give birth to a boy, but 
to a girl, and I should like you to call her Maria Theresa 
And this really came to pass. His gift to her, on occa¬ 
sion of the baptism, was a relic of St. Agatha, which he 
had himself received as a present; it was in a little silver 
box which did not exceed a few cents in value. D. Her¬ 
cules then entreated Alphonsus to pray to God to grant 
him a male child. He went with his wife to Ariola, where 
Alphonsus then was, during her second pregnancy. When 
they took leave of him, they again asked of him to pray 
to God to grant them a son. In reply, he gave D. Marianne 
two pictures of St. Louis, and told her to be of good 
courage, and that God would certainly comfort her. Two 
pictures of the same saint seemed undoubtedly a mystery; 
but D. Marianne was delivered of twin sons. They were 
comforted by the birth of a third son after this. 

Alphonsus took a great interest in the education of his 
nephews, that they might imbibe the milk of piety, be¬ 
times. The priest,their tutor, related that there came no 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


349 


letter from St. Agatha in which lie did not urge his brother 
to attend to the education of his children. He even com¬ 
posed a short rule for them, which was appropriate to their 
age, in order that they might pass the day devoutly. In a 
letter to D. Hercules, of the 4th of December, 1770, he 
expresses himself thus: “For the love of God often call to 
mind what I have urged upon you so frequently in regard to 
the business of your eternal salvation. I am pleased to hear 
that my little god-sons practice the devotions I have recom¬ 
mended for them. I hope they will be inclined to become 
saints.” When, once, D. Hercules introduced his three sons 
to their uncle, at Arienzo, he looked at the twins, and said : 
“ If you should lose one of these two, should you be very sad 
at it?” Alphonsus had prophesied ; for after some months, 
one of the twin-brothers died. The disconsolate and aged 
father came to St. Agatha to seek for comfort from his 
saintly brother, when he reminded him of his prophecy. 
“ Do not say any more to me,” he said to him, “ for your 
prophecies are too inauspicious.” “Fear no more,” re¬ 
plied Alphonsus, “for you will preserve the sons who 
now remain to you, and you will see them live and grow 
old.” 

He himself, after having instructed them, gave them con¬ 
firmation, and whenever they came to see him, he explained 
to them their duties towards God and their parents, the 
hideousness of sin, and how much bad conduct dishonors 
a Christian and a gentleman. He, above all, tried to in¬ 
spire them with love for Jesus Christ, and a tender devo¬ 
tion towards the Blessed Virgin. When they grew up, D. 
Hercules intended to place them in the college of the 
nobility, and communicated his design to his brother, who 
replied on the 15th of December, 1771, saying: “I cannot 
approve of your project, because I have not an over good 
opinion of that establishment; besides, boys are not fit to 
enter a college until they are at least ten or twelve years of 
age. In order to prevent their imbibing vice in their very 
infancy, it is good for them at present to remain with you, 
and when God wills it, it will be time to think of their going 
30 


350 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


elsewhere; but I repeat,' that they ought not to go to the 
college now. I should like to know where they may best 
be placed so as to become virtuous as well as learned.” 
He heard that the college of Nunziatella would pass into 
the hands of the Fathers of the Pious Schools, otherwise 
called the Tommasque Fathers; he therefore wrote to his 
brother, saying: “Should this college be under the direc¬ 
tion of these Fathers, I should be inclined to wish that my 
nephews should be entrusted to the management of these 
good priests, because they are especially pains-taking, from 
the first, in forming the children who are confided to them 
properly, and thus vour sons would make more progress in 
three or four years, than they would make elsewhere in 
twice that time.” In another letter, he had said, “The 
malice of but one is enough to cause the ruin of a hundred. 
Keep them under your own eyes, and God will provide for 
the rest, when the proper time shall come. For your part, 
have their spiritual good at heart, and Providence will take 
care to supply their temporal wants, without injury to those 
of the soul.” 

D. Hercules wished to present his two sons to the king, 
but Alphonsus wished him not to do it. “ If the king were 
to tell you,” he wrote to him, “ that he wishes to have 
them as cadets in the brigade or some other regiment, you 
will be obliged to make them cadets or soldiers, and thus 
to risk the loss of their souls as well as that of their bodies. 
I see that you do not enter into my sentiments as to the 
way of bringing up these dear little children, and you do 
the contrary of what I tell you. You are their father, there¬ 
fore you can do what you please, but I am greatly afraid 
that you will one day have cause to repent of some misfor¬ 
tune, which you will then be unable to remedy. The love 
which I bear towards you and your children has made me 
write thus.” 

It came to pass that D. Marianne became tormented with 
scruples, and at last lost her senses. “I sympathize in 
your sorrow,” Alphonsus wrote to D. Hercules, on the 5th 
of April, 1768, “ in regard to the calamity which has be- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


351 


fallen D. Marianne, and I beg God to give you patience. 
Since he has sent you this cross, you must accept it with 
good courage, otherwise it will become more weighty, and 
you will be still obliged to bear it.” “ I beg your reverence,” 
he wrote to F. Villani, on this subject, “ to recommend my 
brother to God, and to write to all our houses to pray for 
D. Marianne, for my poor brother is in great distress.” 

D. Charles Cavalieri, the general, and governor of Man¬ 
tua, a cousin of Alphonsus, died in the beginning of the 
year 1770, and left to him and D. Hercules sixty thousand 
ducats. Alphonsus did not hesitate to yield it all without 
reserve to his brother. He expressed himself in the fol¬ 
lowing terms on this subject, and in regard to all that might 
happen of a similar sort at any other time : “ I do not wish 
for rents, or possessions, or for any thing else I may have 
a claim to; even were I to be no longer bishop, I could 
live on my income from the college of doctors. Be satis¬ 
fied, therefore, and be not uneasy on this head ; it is enough 
for you to know that I lay no claim to any money from you, 
either for the past or for the future.” 

By all this, we see that neither his various and great in¬ 
firmities, nor his solicitude as a pastor, could stifle the senti¬ 
ments of tenderness he owed to his nephews. Neither did 
he forget his dear children of the Congregation. In order 
to cause virtue and evangelical perfection to flourish, which 
he had formerly taught by his example, he wrote the fol¬ 
lowing circular on the 26th of February, 1771: “You al¬ 
ready know that within a short time God has called several 
of our companions into eternity; you also know how much 
the Congregation is persecuted. However, none of all this 
gives me any alarm. But I am alarmed at seeing some 
amongst us who have little fervor and numerous faults. St. 
Philip Neri said that ten holy w r orkmen would suffice for 
the conversion of the whole world. I w'rite to you this 
time with tearful eyes, for I hear that several amongst you 
correspond badly with the end for which God called them 
into our little Congregation, and that they allow themselves 
to be governed by a spirit of pride. God cannot dwell in 


352 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


hearts where Christian humility, fraternal charity, and peace 
are absent. Our sin in not corresponding to God’s grace 
makes me tremble more than the most furious persecutions 
from men and devils; God will protect us against these 
enemies, when we live according to His will, and then we 
can say: e Si Deus pro nobis, quis contra nosV but if we 
behave ill towards God, He will chastise instead of protect¬ 
ing us. I feel great displeasure when I hear that any of the 
young amongst you do not live according to evangelical 
perfection, which is the peculiar duty of laborers of Jesus 
Christ; but the pain I suffer is still more keen, and the 
sadness of my heart is still greater, when I am told that 
faults of insubordination and of non-observance of the rule 
are committed by the fathers, or by the most aged and most 
ancient brothers, by those, in short, who ought to serve as 
models for the younger and those recently received. 

“ In my letters and my discourses, I have always enforced 
holy obedience and submission to superiors, who are the 
interpreters of the will of God here below. On these de¬ 
pend good order, the glory of God, the success of the Mis¬ 
sions, and the peace of our souls. . . . Reform and zeal 
are talked of by some, but no thoughts are entertained by 
them of reforming their own conduct, which is more evil 
than that of the rest. . . . God wishes to have obedience 
and respectful submission to superiors from you, rather than 
a hundred sacrifices, and a thousand more striking works. 
God wishes us to be poor, and contented with the poverty 
we profess ; and we ought to thank Him if by His mercy we 
have bread to eat, and if He provides us with the necessa¬ 
ries of life. He who is not satisfied to lead a life of poverty 
amongst us, in food and clothing, had better take leave of 
our society without troubling us further, and can go and 
live as he likes at home. 

“ What ought to be the principal aim of him who enters 
the Congregation, but that of pleasing God and making a 
good death? and this grace has already been obtained by 
many of our good brothers, who have now passed into 
eternity, and who are at present, I feel assured, all occu- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


353 


pied in thanking God for having caused them to die in the 
Congregation. 

o o 

“ Let each of you renounce the vain glory of shining, in 
preaching the word of God. . . . We must not preach 
ourselves, but Jesus Christ crucified ; we must proclaim His 
glory, and not display our vanity; I pray God to send His 
chastisements down on those who preach with vanity; I 
wish, yes, I wish that they may be rendered unable to as¬ 
cend the pulpit of truth, and I hope that my desires will be 
granted. . . . 

“I am persuaded that God preserves my life at so 
advanced an age, in order to remedy the disorders which 
have arisen, to the detriment of the work of the Mission¬ 
aries; and I am resolved to remedy them at all costs. God 
does not require many. It is sufficient if but few remain, 
if those few be good : a few of this latter sort will do more 
good than a great number of the imperfect, proud, and dis¬ 
obedient. ... I say to all who may despise the advice I 
have just given, that at the judgment day they will find that 
I shall be their first accuser before the tribunal of Jesus 
Christ. I have never ceased to give the same warnings to 
all my brothers, but notwithstanding all that I have said, 
many turn their backs on God by quitting the Congregation. 

I shall expect to see these miserable beings, and all who 
may resemble them, at the day of judgment. . . . 

“ I advise you all to observe exactly the praiseworthy 
practices in use amongst us for the promotion of piety and 
sanctification. I enforce obedience to superiors, and love 
towards Jesus Christ and His adorable passion. I do the 
same also in regard to prayer, the spiritual exercises, and 
the customary retreat. Let him who loves Jesus Christ 
be obedient, let him be contented with all, and always re¬ 
main in tranquillity.” 

It is thus that the saintly founder encouraged his sons, 
and never let them stand still in the way of perfection. 
However slight an infraction of the rule might be commit¬ 
ted in the Congregation, it did not remain unpunished. 

II Uncorrected faults,” said he, “ become an established 

30 * 


354 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


evil.” On hearing that some clerics had become lax in the 
practice of virtue, and unsteady in the observance of the 
rule, he was not satisfied with forbidding them to receive 
holy orders, but wished that they should be sent back into the 
Noviciate, in order that they might there regain the fervor 
which was lacking in them, and he did not pardon them un¬ 
til he was assured of their amendment. The exterior trials 
of the Conorrecration, however, caused him to act with more 
circumspection, and he was not so prompt as usual in pro¬ 
nouncing sentence of exclusion, in order not to increase 
the fire, and cast oil on the flames, by giving the discon¬ 
tented the occasion to join the enemies without. Two 
subjects were tired of the rule, and no longer took the 
trouble to observe it; Alphonsus sent for them to Arienzo 
and spoke to them, but without success. In their blind¬ 
ness they went so far as to say that they would remain 
in the Congregation in spite even of him, and that if any 
attempt were made to dismiss them, they would know how 
to act. Alphonsus, in sorrow that the circumstances of the 
times did not allow them to be expelled, said that that 
which he did not do God would do for him ; and so it came 
to pass, one of them asked for a dispensation to go that 
same year, and the other speedily followed his example. 
“ I know,” he wrote to the Superior of Frosinone, “ that it is 
necessary to have the patience of a saint with some, and to 
go on waiting without gaining what one wishes for; but 
what can be done ? Let us aid the bark as much as we can, 
and if we meet with scandals, let us not hesitate: let us re¬ 
press them by the punishments they deserve. It is our 
duty to punish them, and we must fulfil our duty, let what 
will happen.” And to F. Cajone, he wrote, “I beg your 
reverence, to govern with all possible mildness, added to 
great firmness against all attacks against the rule, for they 
do us more harm than all our persecutions. When it is 
necessary to use correction, do it privately in the first place, 
and with charity, and treat every one with affability and 
kindness.” 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


3 55 


The persecutions mentioned in these letters were those 
of which we have spoken above, on occasion of which he 
had visited Naples; for the enemies of his Congregation 
had only desisted from their attacks while he was there, re¬ 
solved to return to the assault at a more opportune time, 
with renewed strength, and with expedients which it would 
be more difficult to ward off. Thus they gave a false inter¬ 
pretation to the decision of the king when he said that he 
did not acknowledge the houses as religious communities, 
and drew matter for accusation from it, which seemed to 
furnish them with an engine too formidable to resist. They 
applied also to the king, and obtained an order to get a 
copy of the rule which had been approved of by the Pope, in 
the hope of finding therein arms wherewith to combat the 
Missionaries advantageously; and then drew up a fresh peti¬ 
tion filled with calumnies. As nothing was then talked of 
but Jesuitism, they took advantage of this and represented 
the Congregation as forming only a branch of the Jesuits, or 
rather as being Jesuits in disguise. They thought themselves 
so sure of success that they considered the Missionaries as 
already lost. However, all their boasts did not succeed in 
discouraging Alphonsus. He tried to make his children 
share in his confidence, and constantly repeated to them: 
“ People say that all will be put an end to, after my death; 
I maintain that this Congregation does not come from me, 
and that it does not depend on my existence. It is the 
work of God, who has preserved it for forty-two years, and 
he will continue to maintain it. . . . Our stability depends 
on God in the first place, and then upon our own good 
conduct; let us therefore be careful to unite ourselves to 
God, to observe our rules, and to be charitable towards all; 
let us be contented even with our miseries, and above all, 
let us strive to be humble, because a little pride may destroy 
us in the same manner as it has so many other societies.” 
The Fathers of the Congregation had not so much confi¬ 
dence ; their fears were founded on the old age and the 
impaired health of the bishop of St. Agatha. F. Villani 
went to Arienzo in 1772, accompanied by some of the 


3 56 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


other fathers, and with tearful eyes implored him to repair 
again to Naples to appease so furious a tempest. They 
spoke so plainly that Alphonsus discovered the real cause 
of their fears, and told them to tranquilize themselves. 
“Do not be afraid that I shall die yet,” he added; but as 
they continued to urge him still more earnestly, he said to 
them several times over: “Do not fear for the Congrega- 
tion, and be assured that I shall live some time longer.” 

Maffey, at this time, changed his course and his artifices; 
he applied to the prime minister and left off addressing 
himself to the minister of ecclesiastical affairs, who had 
begun to be aware of his character. The prime minister, 
Marquis Tanucci, looked, or pretended to look on Maffey 
in a favorable point of view, and attributed all he did to 
nothing but zeal, the more so as the latter had also gained 
over some of the minister’s clerks by means of his gifts; he 
therefore ordered the advocate of the king to proceed with 
the utmost rigor in regard to the heads put forth in the pe¬ 
tition, and particularly as to the accusation, that acquisi¬ 
tions had been made by the Missionaries in the kingdom 
and in the State of Benevento which had been carefully 
concealed by equivocation, while they ought not to possess 
anything. When these details were related to Alphonsus, 
he was not discouraged : “Let us act as we ought towards 
God,” said he, “and He will aid us; for God can do more 
than man. Let us have recourse to the assistance of pray¬ 
er. Innocence and prayer are all-powerful.” He recom¬ 
mended that prayers should be offered in all the houses, 
and he never wrote any letters to his friends in which he 
did not also beg their prayers. 

Another cause of distress to our Saint also happened 
about this time at Palermo. A period of repose had been 
enjoyed there since the first anxieties that their enemies had 
caused the Missionaries, though Alphonsus -had always 
feared this calm more than a storm ; he had written to them 
on the 30th of April, 1771, saying: “I feel great consola¬ 
tion at the exercises you have given, I derive comfort from 
them, but on the other hand these very consolations fill me 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


357 


with fear. St. Theresa said that persecutions are signs that 
the seed sown produces fruit; you are without persecu¬ 
tions, but here we are plentifully supplied with them; how¬ 
ever, God assists us.” He was so ill and in such suffering 
that he signed this letter: ‘Brother Alphonsus Maria the 
cripple.’ And indeed this tranquillity was not of long dura¬ 
tion in Sicily. Their adversaries returned to attack them 
with renewed strength; they heaped up calumnies upon 
calumnies, and stirred up again those which they had al¬ 
ready spread against the Missionaries, as being Molinists 
and Probabilists, dangerous to the State and to the Church, 
and pursued their persecutions against them even in Naples. 
When Alphonsus saw affairs take this turn, he did not fail 
to justify himself and his Congregation to the king and his 
ministers. 

About the same time, Maffey devised a snare into which 
the Missionaries would have fallen, if Alphonsus, assisted by 
light from on high, had not been able to avoid it. Maffey 
got into new difficulties with the people of Uiceto, and 
tried to secure the Missionaries as mediators between him 
and his adversaries; there were several influential persons, 
their friends, who approved of this proposal, and exhorted 
them to bring the negociation to a satisfactory end ; but 
Alphonsus, being informed of all this, answered: “It 
would be the means of alienating the minds of the inhab¬ 
itants from us, without giving any hope of a reconciliation 
with Maffey; he is an untractable man, whom it is impos¬ 
sible to pacify, besides, what we might say to the people in 
favor of Maffey would be of no avail; they would all be¬ 
lieve that we speak, not because he is right, but to win his 
friendship. On the other hand, everything makes me be¬ 
lieve, that in whatever way one may turn in the matter, 
right will always be found on the side of the people. . . . 
I am then decidedly of opinion, that no one belonging to 
the Congregation must accept the office of mediator on any 
terms.” When Maffey saw that his scheme on the subject 
of mediation was disconcerted, he endeavored to render 
the complaints of the people against him ineffectual, by 


358 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


representing the Missionaries as instigators and as the 
leaders of a party, and the credit he enjoyed with the Mar¬ 
quis of Tanucci influenced that minister in his favor. 
When Alphonsus saw that the fire w r as lit at both extremi¬ 
ties, he felt that it was time to try and prevent a general 
conflagration; he therefore recalled his sons from Sicily. 
“If God wishes us to be there,” he said to them, “he will 
not lack means of procuring our return, and you will then 
return blessing God and the king.” This retreat was a 
cause of lively distress to Mgr. Lanza. “ Who cannot see 
the triumph of hell therein ?” he said. “You will go away 
from Sicily, but you shall return there again, in spite of 
hell; and if it is neeessary for me to sell my mitre and my 
cross in order to attain this end, I will sell them for God, 
for you, and for this work.” The most respectable of the 
people of the town and of the clergy shared in their pastor’s 
sentiments; and though the departure of the Missionaries 
took place secretly, and during the night, a great multitude 
accompanied them to the shore, deploring the loss which 
their departure would be to the town, and the blank they 
would leave there ; and they had scarcely embarked, when 
the clergy and all the religious orders of Girgenti, the cheva¬ 
liers and ladies, magistrates and men of letters, united to 
address petitions to the king to obtain their return. Some 
of them had also recourse to Alphonsus for the same pur¬ 
pose ; and thirty-eight ladies in particular, and twenty-eight 
chevaliers, wrote to him, saying: “As we have addressed 
an energetic petition to the king to implore his clemency, 
the urgency of our spiritual wants also compels us to 
implore your lordship’s assistance.” 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


359 


CHAPTER XXVI. 

Jllphonsus seeks to resign. He publishes several Works. 
His Congregation is established in the States of the 
Church. He publishes still other Works. He assists at 
the death of Pope Clement XIV. His sentiments on the 
Election of a new Pope. His Missionaries return to 
Sicily. 

A LPHONSUS, seeing the dangers his Congregation in¬ 
curred, on one hand, and believing, on the other, that 
his infirmities and great age rendered him of little use to his 
Church while he could still be of service to his sons, resolved 
again to resign the episcopate. He had thought of doing so 
before, but the differences which existed between the court 
of Naples and that of Rome in regard to the election of 
bishops, had made him defer taking any step in the matter, 
from the fear that his Church would be left without a shep¬ 
herd for a long time. When the two courts had settled 
the matter in debate, he represented to the Pope in the 
year 1772, through Cardinal Castelli, all the reasons which 
led him to tender his resignation, protesting at the same 
time that he was far from wishing to do his own will, and that 
he meant to depend entirely on that of his Holiness, and 
that he was equally ready to give up the bishopric, or to 
die under the burden of his office. The Pope was greatly 
edified by his submission to the head of the Church ; but as 
he was aware of the very great good Alphonsus still effected, 
he replied to him in a brief, in which he expressed himself 
in the most consolatory manner, in order to encourage him 
to continue his administration; and when Cardinal Cas¬ 
telli solicited him to consider the old age of the saintly 
bishop, and to release him from his burthen, his Holiness 
replied : “ That it would suffice if D. Alphonsus ruled over 
his diocese from his bed:” and when the Cardinal wanted 
to show him his incapacity in regard to making his visita¬ 
tions, the Pope answered him: “ One simple prayer ad- 


360 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


dressed by him to God from his bed, is worth more than if 
he went about his diocese a hundred times.” Alphon- 
sus, when he heard that the Pope’s opinion was contrary 
to his request, bent his head, and submitted his will to that 
of the Vicar of Jesus Christ. 

The Fathers of the Congregation, and several bishops, 
his friends, seeing him in such a deplorable state that his 
very appearance inspired compassion, thought they ought 
to persuade him to make a formal resignation, but however 
feeble he felt for so weighty a charge, he would never con¬ 
sent to this. “ The voice of the Pope,” said he, “ is to me 
as the voice of God, and I shall die content now under the 
burthen of the episcopate.” As they went on to urge him 
with reasons which seemed to authorize this step, he one 
day extricated himself from their importunities by answer¬ 
ing cheerfully: “The present Pope is a man who does not 
yield easily; if I were to give him my resignation, he 
would not accept it; let us be patient, and wait for his suc¬ 
cessor.” At this every one burst out laughing, as Alphon- 
sus was nearly broken down and paralytic, while the Pope 
was still robust and young, numbering seventeen years less 
in age. He had prophesied truly, however. Pope Clement 
XIV, contrary to all expectations, died two years after this, 
while Alphonsus continued to live on and to labor. An¬ 
other reason made him afterwards renounce the idea of 
abdicating, and even caused him to expel the thought of it 
as a temptation. Numerous candidates aspired to succeed 
him in the church of St. Agatha, and he heard that the 
Pope would be obliged, in order to supply his place, to 
yield to the efforts of a powerful party, who favored a sub¬ 
ject who was unfit to govern the diocese. He said on this 
occasion : “ I would rather die the most painful death, than 
see my beloved sheep in the mouth of a wolf.” 

In a circular, addressed, about this time, to all the houses 
of his Congregation, after having exhorted them to a more 
exact observance of the rule, and a more fervent practice 
of virtue, in order to merit the favor and assistance of God, 
he says: “ I repeat to you, the tempest rages violently. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


36 


Let each one recommend the Congregation to God, and 
let three litanies be said daily, in common, with three * De 
Profundis .’ We stand in need of prayer, and there is no one 
who will aid us but the Blessed Virgin ; but prayers will be 
of little use to us, if we do not correct our faults. I can 
do no more ; I who am very decrepid, and in bed, all para¬ 
lyzed. What should I or could I do ? It is you, my chil¬ 
dren, who must support the Congregation, and be assured, 
that, if we behave properly, God will always assist us, and 
the more poor, and despised, and persecuted we may be, 
the more good we shall do, and the greater also will be the 
reward which Jesus Christ will give us in heaven.” 

Notwithstanding all the bodily and mental sufferings with 
which he was laden, Alphonsus did not cease to think 
and labor for the welfare of the Church in general. In 
order to impress the sacred wounds of Jesus crucified in 
the hearts of the faithful, he wrote down the points of his 
meditations on the subject. The title of this little book is : 
“ Reflections on divers spirtual subjects.” It is considered 
by every one to be admirably adapted to win the hearts of men 
to that of Jesus Christ. It contains a lively description of 
the whole passion of our Blessed Saviour, as well as of the 
most powerful motives to excite us to love Him. Although 
he had combatted the unbelieving in a dissertation which 
was published in the year 1756, and had done so again 
still more recently, in his book ‘On the Truth of Faith,* 
yet in consideration of the ravages they were continually 
making, he once more attacked them, in a dissertation; 
entitled, ‘Reflections on the Truth of Divine Revela¬ 
tion, against the opposing principles of the Deists.’ “If 
the enemies of our religion,” said he, “ are never satisfied, 
although they fight against it by thousands of books, which 
they publish daily, why should the friends of religion get 
tired of defending it?” 

In his zeal which knew no bounds, he also undertook 
another work, which was intended to be of use to religion, 
and to separate the true doctrine from the errors which in 
former ages had endeavored to stifle it. In order to place 

31 


362 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


all the evils which the Church has suffered before the eyes 
of the faithful, and to show them all the noxious things 
which error has at all time emitted against her, he put to¬ 
gether in three volumes the history of all the heresies which 
have existed since the birth of Christianity up to our own 
days. In this work he also animadverts particularly on the 
innovators of modern times, and shows the contradictions 
of their doctrine, and the invariable stability of the Roman 
Church This history of the heresies was finished in 1772, 
and published under the title of “ The triumph of the 
Church.” The author defends the infallibility of the Pope 
and his pre-eminence in the Church in a special manner, 
and combats the errors of Jansenius and his followers, in 
particular. For this reason, a canon who held the Gallican 
opinions strongly, did not approve of the work and op¬ 
posed it, but this opposition was of no consequence; it 
was printed after the saintly author had written a letter to 
the ecclesiastical examiner. 

Another work caused him more serious embarrassment; 
it was his collection of Sermons, which he published about 
the same time. One of his enemies denounced this work 
to the authorities, as containing things which might be 
displeasing to the Sovereign, and therefore the publica¬ 
tion of it was hindered for nearly a year. But at last when 
the report of the examiner became known, the intrigue 
was put an end to, and the work was published, to the sat¬ 
isfaction of the minister, and the glory of Alphonsus. 
Some letters were added to this book, in the form of an ap¬ 
pendix. The first is written to a young student, deliberating 
on the choice of a state of life. It places before him the 
great good he may derive from the spiritual exercises made 
during a retreat. In the second, Alphonsus represents the 
great utility of missions to a bishop, and settles all the dif¬ 
ficulties concerning them ; and in the last, which is ad¬ 
dressed to a religious, he treats of the manner of preaching 
with apostolical simplicity. 

We have also another very precious little book which the 
saintly bishop published at this time, under the title of 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 363 

‘The true Happiness of Man, and on his submission to 
the will of God.’ One may truly say that this treatise was 
inspired, rather than composed. A pious person was so 
moved by the benefit he had himself derived from it, that 
he caused it to be printed and gratuitously distributed 
every where. 

In the year 1773, God willed, that, though in the midst of 
so many troubles, Alphonsus should yet see his Congrega¬ 
tion happily augmented by two new foundations, in the 
states of the Church. Mgr. Sarni, the Bishop of Aquinas, 
having ardently wished for his Missionaries for many years 
without being able to obtain them, renewed his entreaties 
in March of this year. In the following November, Al¬ 
phonsus destined nine fathers for these missions, under 
the direction of D. Francis of Paul. The labors of the 
missionaries, who were divided in two companies, were 
every where attended with the greatest success, and the 
fruits of salvation which they produced caused them 
to be earnestly asked for, to preach also in other dio¬ 
ceses. During the course of these missions, D. Francis, 
with another father, visited the celebrated abbey of Casa- 
mary, of the Order of the Trappisls. These religious 
proposed to them to establish a house of the Congrega¬ 
tion, for the advantage of the numerous inhabitants of the 
neighboring country, at Scifelli, (which is not far from 
La Trappe,) where there was a church, just then vacated by 
John Louis Arnaud, who, in his zeal for aiding the villages 
in these parts, had erected it as well as a commodious 
habitation for himself, and who had been lately nominated 
by Mgr. Giacomini, Bishop of Verali, as his Grand Vicar. 
The bishop, when he heard of this plan of the Trappists, 
was filled with joy, and agreed with D. Arnaud in wishing 
for the projected foundation, and wrote to Alphonsus to 
inform him of the neglected state of the souls in those parts, 
in order to obtain his consent to it. When the bishop had 
obtained also the consent of Pope Clement XIV, the 
foundation was decided on, Alphonsus looking on it as in¬ 
spiration from on high. “I have consented to let this 


364 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


foundation be made,” he wrote to D. Francis of Paul on 
the 28th of May, 1773. “ I have written to thank the 

Abbe Arnaud for it; it is to him that we are indebted for 
all concerning it.” The fathers were to live with D. Ar¬ 
naud ; so Alphonsus was most anxious that perfect harmony 
should exist between them and him, and took particular 
pains in advising F. Francis of Paul, the Rector of the new 
house, to do all that he could to obtain this end. “Take 
care,” he wrote to him, “ not to displease him in things 
which are not absolutely contrary to the good order of the 
house. Many things must be yielded for the sake of peace 
and convenience. He has conferred good on us, and may 
■do so again. Let him see that you esteem him, and listen 
to his opinions as far as possible. Nevertheless, I advise 
jou to keep up the observance of the rule from the com¬ 
mencement of this foundation. I beg you to do this for 
the love of God and your neighbor.” 

Poverty and misery were also the portion of this new 
house. Alphonsus did not fail to assist it; not, however, 
with the revenues of his diocese, but with that which he 
received at Naples from the College of Doctors. “ Tell 
all the subjects in my name,” he wrote to F. Francis of 
Paul, “ to remember that this foundation is new, and situ¬ 
ated in another kingdom. In all new foundations it is 
■necessary to suffer, and to suffer much, both on account of 
their poverty, and also because one has to deal with people 
one does not know. If they wish to please Jesus Christ, 
Jet them read what the saints suffered in the first establish¬ 
ments, and how they thereby became saints.” 

At this period, the Fathers were also laboring to be es¬ 
tablished in Rome, but Alphonsus did not approve of this 
project; he replied to him who had made to him this propo¬ 
sition: “I have read your long letter, but I do not approve 
of your reasons; what is the good of wasting time about 
these things, since God does not wish for them r” When 
the Jesuits were suppressed, the Pope, of his own accord, 
conceived the idea of giving those of the Congregation a 
convent in Rome. F. Francis of Paul believed that Al- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 365 

phonsus would at'length favor his wishes, but he answered 
him as follows, on the 25th August, 1774 : “ I am rejoiced 
at what you tell me about Mgr. Macedonio, and about the 
Pope’s favorable disposition in our regard. But we have 
cause to thank God that this affair has come to nothing. 
If the Pope had persisted in such a design, I would have 
written energetically to him, even if I had had the whole 
Congregation against me, to try and get him to abandon 
this project. What have we to do in Rome, let me ask 
you? The Congregation would be lost,because we should 
be distracted from the work of our mission, and we should 
lose sight of the end of our institute. A bastard work 
would result from this, and that would be all the profit we 
should derive from it. There are many besides us, who can 
do all that we have been asked to do in Rome, and in the 
midst of the great multitudes who inhabit this town, what 
good can we produce there? .... If we are placed in the 
midst of prelates, lords, and courtly people, adieu to mis¬ 
sions, and adieu to the country ; we shall become courtiers, 
greedy after praise and riches. May Jesus Christ deliver 
us from this. Finally, let us thank God for the good 
opinion the Pope has of us.” He was more pleased with 
foundations in towns or villages which he saw were desti¬ 
tute and deprived of the bread of life, as was seen, when, 
about the same time, he was applied to for a new founda¬ 
tion at Frosinone, also in the ecclesiastical States, and in 
the diocese of Verali. The discalceated Augustinian 
Fathers had abandoned a church and a hospice which they 
had had under the title of St. Mary of Grace ; these were of¬ 
fered to the Missionaries, and Alphonsus did not hesitate 
to accept the foundation. Besides, there being a great 
number of little villages around, which wanted evangelical 
laborers, there were two other considerations which caused 
our saint to agree to this proposition. The first was, that 
in those houses there would be freedom from the persecu¬ 
tions which were suffered in the others, and no obstacle 
to the exact observance of the rule in all its rigor, which 
appeared to him as a manifest sign of the will of God. In 
31* 



366 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


the second place, he thought, as the two houses were to be 
near each other, they would be of mutual assistance; how¬ 
ever, they were not established there before the 20th of 
June, 1776. 

In the year 1774, Alphonsus gave a new proof how 
deeply he had been impressed by that saying of the Holy 
Ghost, “ Particula boni doni ne te praetereat,” and how 
faithful he was, (considering the time allotted to each man 
by God to be employed in promoting His glory, to be this 
good gift,) in fulfilling the vow he had made not to lose 
any part of it. It was the publishing of his explication of 
the Psalms, of which he himself says, dedicating it to Pope 
Clement XIV: “ This is a book which I have written in 
the last years of my life, and at an age when my exhausted 
strength announces my approaching end. . . . I hope that 
your Holiness will approve of this work, which may be 
useful to a great number of the faithful who say the divine 
office in a language which they do not understand, who 
are ignorant of the signification of the words, and far more 
of the sense of the Psalms.” This work, which was a dif¬ 
ficult one, and composed at such an advanced age, was 
the admiration of the most learned men at Naples. Of all 
the eulogiums passed upon it, let the following suffice : 
“ Alphonsus, by his labors,” said B. Cervone, who after¬ 
wards became Bishop of Aquila, “ has shown that he is 
worthy to rival the holy bishops of the primitive Church; 
for without speaking of the many other works by which he 
brought back to the road of virtue many who had wandered 
from it, or strengthened in goodness many who were al¬ 
ready walking in it, had the saintly bishop not written any¬ 
thing else in support of religion and the Church, this work 
alone would have sufficed to render him worthy of immor¬ 
tality.” Alphonsus had added a statement of his system 
on the rule of moral actions, in an appendix to this work, 
which he also submitted to the Pope for correction, if any 
error should be found therein. 

The same year, 1774, brought to light his book on the 
“Triumphs of the Martyrs.” In writing which, he had in- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


367 


tended to kindle in all hearts a greater degree of love 
towards Jesus Christ, and a greater zeal for that faith for 
which the martyrs have so cheerfully given their lives, 
their blood, their all, and which was, in his time, the ob¬ 
ject of so many attacks from the mis-called philosophers of 
the eighteenth century ; thus showing himself, as the same 
B. Cervone expressed it, “full of solicitude for the grand 
affair, that of salvation, and omitting nothing which could 
open or facilitate the road to the celestial country, either to 
himself or to others.” 

While he was thus occupied for the glory of God and 
for the good of souls, Baron Sarnelli and D. Maffey never 
rested, and left nothing undone in order to calumniate his 
Missionaries with fresh accusations, not seeing any better 
method of insuring the success of their cause. Laden 
with infirmity and occupations as was the poor old man, he 
showed that he still remembered his former profession as a 
lawyer, and arranged the plan of defence himself. “I have 
got ready my answers,” he wrote to F. Villani, on the 2d 
of June, 1774, “on the most important point. As this 
answer must be presented in writing, I will place it in the 
hands of Advocate Celano, in order that he may arrange it 
in his own way.” However, he was in a state of great un¬ 
easiness. “ I have caused prayers to be said every where,” 
he wrote in another letter, “ I have had masses celebrated, 
and I know not what more I can do. . . . Get the people 
to say an Ave before the sermon, and get prayers said in as 
many monasteries and places as you can.” And in an¬ 
other to F. Majone, who resided in Naples: “When the 
ministers are spoken to, the Congregation must not be 
named, I only ought to be spoken of, for I am the person 
principally aimed at in this affair.” He recommended also 
the matter, in writing, to the counsellors of St. Clare, and 
got some persons of great influence to mediate for them, 
and especially the Prince della Riccia. He wrote himself to 
the Marquis of Cito, at that time the President of the royal 
council, and also solicited Nicholas Vincenzio, the chief 
minister of the Court della Sommaria, for his intervention 


368 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


in their favor with the President. He addressed also a 
memorial to the king, in which he, without injuring any 
one, represented the innocence of his Missionaries, the 
labor to which they daily gave themselves up for the wel¬ 
fare of the kingdom, and their respectful submission to all 
the royal decisions; and especially reminded him of the 
real intentions of his father, King Charles III, who had 
authorized the four houses in the kingdom. He also wrote 
a long circular to all the houses of the Congregation, in 
which he exhorts all to increased fervor in the exercise of all 
virtues and the observance of rule, as the best means to 
secure divine protection for the Congregation, of which he 
says, prophesying its future prosperity : “ I am sure that 
Jesus Christ looks upon our little Congregation with most 
loving eyes, that he loves it as the apple of his eye, as we 
see by experience; for in the midst of so many persecu¬ 
tions, he never ceases to protect us and to render us more 
worthy to labor for his glory in divers countries, by the as¬ 
sistance of His manifest graces. I shall not see it, for my 
death is at hand, but I feel assured that our little flock will 
increase more and more, not by becoming richer and more 
highly thought of by the world, but by procuring the glory 
of God, and that, through our labors, Jesus Christ will be 
better known and loved by others. A day will come when 
we shall see each other again, and be re-united together in 
that eternal abode where we shall never more be separated ; 
and where we shall also be united to hundreds of thousands 
of persons, who once lived without the love of God, and 
who through our means recovered grace, and who will dwell 
with the Lord forever, and form our glory and joy for all 
eternity. Ought not this thought alone to stimulate us to 
love Jesus Christ with all our hearts, and to cause others 
to love Him also ?” He had certainly been favored with 
some special revelation, which his humility made him con¬ 
ceal, for the same year he wrote to F. Majone, “ I am 
full of joy, because it seems to me that the Blessed Virgin 
will bring us safe and sound out of this tempest. There¬ 
fore let us abandon ourselves into the hands of Jesus 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 369 

Christ; let us pray to Him, and He will do all for His greater 
glory.” 

Alphonsus, who had so many times given proof of his 
solicitude, not only for his diocese and the Congregation, 
but also for the Church in general, by the many books he 
composed and published, as soon as he was aware of a par¬ 
ticular want of the faithful, or whenever there appeared a 
wolf threatening the flock of Christ; could not but be pain¬ 
fully affected by the troubles which disquieted the Church 
during the pontificate of Clement XIV, and by the misfor¬ 
tunes these troubles forbode to religion : they caused him 
the greatest alarm, and he continually offered up prayers to 
Heaven for the peace of the Sovereign Pontiff and of the 
much persecuted Church. No one can well imagine how 
he sorrowed over the storm which raged against the Jesuits 
on all sides ; he never spoke of it without the deepest sense 
of distress. “It is nothing but intrigue on the part of the 
Jansenists and unbelieving,” said he, “ if they succeed in 
overthrowing the company, their wishes will be accom¬ 
plished; and if this bulwark falls, what convulsions will 
there not be in the Church and State? If the Jesuits are 
once destroyed, the Pope and the Church will be in a most 
disastrous situation. The Jesuits are not the only aim of 
the Jansenists; they aim at the company in order thereby 
to be more certain of striking at the Church and State.” 

Clement XIV suppressed the Society of Jesus, in a brief 
dated the 22d of July, 1773; this was a terrible blow to 
Alphonsus. When he received the brief of the Pope, he 
adored the judgment of God in silence for some time, then 
he said: “The will of the Pope is the will of God;” and 
did not utter another word to manifest how much he suf¬ 
fered interiorly. One day, the Grand-Vicar and other per¬ 
sons of distinction wished to cast blame on the dispositions 
of the Sovereign Pontiff. “ Poor Pope,” exclaimed the 
saintly bishop, “what could he do in the difficult circum¬ 
stances in which he was placed, and when so many crown¬ 
ed heads united in demanding their suppression? As for 
us, we have only to adore the secret judgment of God, and 


370 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


be at peace. However, I assert, that if but one single 
Jesuit be left in the world, he alone would be enough to 
re-establish the company.” 

No one is ignorant of the constantly increasing troubles 
in which the Pope found himself after this suppression; 
the deplorable state of the Church and of its head filled 
the Bishop of St. Agatha with the deepest sorrow. “Pray 
for the Pope,” he wrote to F. Francis of Paul, on the 27th 
of June, 1774. “ N., who has come from Rome, told me 

that the Pope is overwhelmed with sadness, and in fact he 
has cause to be so, for there does not seem to be a shadow 
of peace for the Church. Pray for the Pope ; God knows 
how I feel for his afflictions!” “Pray for the Pope,” he 
said in another letter, to F. Villani. “ For my part I never 
cease to do so. Pray for the Pope; I have heard that he 
wishes for death, so great is his distress at all the trials 
which afflict the Church.” In another letter, of the 23d of 
July, to F. Paul, he says: “The Pope suffers a great deal 
on account of the pretensions of the crowns, and espe¬ 
cially on account of Venice. ... I do nothing but repeat 
over and over again, ‘Poor Pope, poor Pope, who is tried 
on all sides!’ I pray for him that God may come to his aid.” 
On the 25th of August, he again wrote, saying: “I hear 
from various quarters that the Pope is in sorrow, that he is 
shut up and does no business. Let us pray to God to de¬ 
liver him from this profound melancholy.” 

On the morning of the 21st of September, Alphonsus, 
after having ended Mass, threw himself, contrary to his 
custom, into his arm-chair; he was cast down and silent, 
he made no movement of any kind, and never articulated a 
word. He remained in that state, all that day and all the 
following night. The servants, seeing the state he was in, 
did not know what was going to happen, and remained up, 
and at the door of his room, but no one dared enter it. On 
the morning of the 22d, he had not changed his position, 
and no one knew what to think of it. However, when the 
day became further advanced, he rang the bell to announce 
that he intended to celebrate Mass. At this signal, all the 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


371 


people in the house hurried to him with eagerness. On see¬ 
ing so many people, the Saint asked what was the matter, 
with an air of surprise. “ You have,” they replied, 
“ neither spoken nor eaten any thing for two days, and 
you ceased to give any signs of life.” “ That is true,” re¬ 
plied he, “ but you do not know that I have been with the 
Pope, who has just died.” Ere long, the tidings of the 
death of Pope Clement XIV was received ; he had passed 
to a better life on the 22d September, at seven o’clock in 
the morning, the very moment when Alphonsus came to 
himself. 

Cardinal Castelli, well aware of the high reputation for 
sanctity possessed by Alphonsus, and knowing what a 
great veneration the sacred college of Cardinals had for the 
holy man, determined to ask him to write, before the Con¬ 
clave began, a long letter on all the abuses which ought to 
be reformed in the various orders of the ecclesiastical 
hierarchy. The Cardinal wished this memorial to be pre¬ 
sented to the Conclave, and that it should serve to deter¬ 
mine the election of a Pope capable of remedying all the 
ills of the Church. Some people who were attached friends 
of the Saint, were commissioned to make this request to 
him to overcome his humility. The following letter, of the 
23d of October, 1774, was his reply: 

“ Most Rev. Cardinal:—You ask for my sentiments on 
the present affairs of the Church and on the election of a 
Pope. Alas! what sentiments can I worthily express to 
you, who am but a poor bishop? All I can find to say is, 
that it is necessary to pray, and to pray much ; for in order 
to raise the Church from the state of remissness and con¬ 
fusion into which all classes have fallen, prudence and 
human wisdom are insufficient, and nothing less than the 
powerful arm of God will suffice. There are few among 
the bishops who have a true zeal for the salvation of souls. 
Most, if not all, of the communities of religious are relaxed ; 
and in the confusion which surrounds us, observances are 
destroyed, and rules are despised and treated as if they 
were not. The secular clergy are in a still worse state, so 


372 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


that there is an absolute necessity for a general reform 
among all ecclesiastics, in order, afterwards, to be able to 
reform the conduct and the manners of the laity. There¬ 
fore we must pray to Jesus Christ to give His Church a head 
who has something more than knowledge and human pru¬ 
dence, to give her one who through the spirit of God may 
be filled with a great love and zeal for His glory, and who 
may be totally detached from all parties, so as to be able to 
resist the suggestions of human respect. If we ever have 
the misfortune to have a Pope who has not God’s glory in 
view, He will not assist him, and things will become worse 
and worse. Prayer is the sole remedy for such great mis¬ 
fortunes. For my part, 1 have not only enjoined all the 
houses of my Congregation to pray with more than ordi¬ 
nary fervor for the election of a new Pontiff, but I have 
also ordered all the secular and regular clergy of my dio¬ 
cese to say the Collect, ‘ Pro eligendo summo Pontijice 
during mass. This is the best advice I can give you ; I 
often pray about this election during the day myself, but 
what can my poor prayers avail ? Nevertheless, I put all 
my trust in the merits of Jesus Christ and of the Blessed 
Virgin, and I hope that God will comfort me by letting me 
see the Church relieved, before my death, which my age 
and infirmities tell me cannot be far distant. 

“ I also wish to see all the disorders which exist done 
away with, and a thousand different ideas come into my 
mind on the subject which I should ardently wish to com¬ 
municate to you, if the knowledge of what I am did not 
take all boldness from me, by convincing me that it is not 
for me to wish to reform the world. I should also like the 
future Pope, when he has to supply any vacancies in the 
College of Cardinals, to select only the best informed and 
the most zealous among those who may be proposed to 
him, and that he should request all princes not to present 
any but men of well-known piety and learning as candi¬ 
dates for a Cardinalship. I should also wish him to exer¬ 
cise firmness, in refusing livings to those who are already 
sufficiently provided for in all their state can demand; to 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


373 


repress luxury in all prelates, and to fix the number of their 
servants of all sorts, so that they should only have so many 
valets-de-chambre, so many other servants, so many horses, 
&c. This would be a method of putting a stop to the 
slander and detraction of our enemies. He ought to take 
pains never to confer benefices on any, but those who have 
merited well on account of what they have done for the 
Church. 

“ I should wish him to be very strict in choosing bishops, 
and that he should obtain information, on all hands, about 
those who are proposed as candidates for this high and im¬ 
portant office in the Church, and that he should be certified 
as to the goodness of their character and their doctrine, 
which are indispensable qualities in ruling over a diocese. 
It is on these chief pastors that the good of religion and 
the salvation of souls chiefly depend. I should like him to 
require all metropolitans, and others, to inform him, in 
secret, as to any bishops who are careless as to the welfare 
of their flocks. I should also wish him to threaten with 
suspension, or the supervision of a Vicar-Apostolic, both 
negligent bishops and those who are non-resident, as well 
as those who scandalize the world by the luxury of their at¬ 
tendants, and by the excessive expense of their equipage, 
their festivities, &c. In some cases it does not do to be 
afraid of putting these threats into execution ; for such cor¬ 
rections not only purify the Church from the corruptions 
which sully her, but they hinder other delinquent bishops 
from falling, through the fear of public blame, which ad¬ 
monishes them of their backslidings and causes them to 
return to a sense of their duty, to the great advantage of 
their flocks. 

“In fine, why should not the future Pope be backward’ 
in granting favors which are injurious to the maintenance 
of discipline ; such, for instance, as that of permitting nuns 
to leave their enclosure to enter into the world without any 
real necessity for it? He ought not readily to consent to 
the secularization of religious, on account of the number 
of evils which result from it, and above all, he ought to 
32 


374 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


constrain all religious whatsoever, to the primitive observ¬ 
ance of the rules of their institute, at least, in all the most 
important points. 

“I will not tire you by saying more; I can do nothing 
further than pray God to give us a Pastor full of His own 
Spirit. And now I conclude with profound respect, and 
assure you that I am,” &c. 

While the saintly bishop was thus occupied for the well¬ 
being of the Church at large, for the administration of his 
diocese, and for the existence of his Congregation, hell 
too did not slumber, but was on the watch for opportuni¬ 
ties of injuring its dreaded antagonist. Up to this time, 
the enemies of the Congregation had spared its head, and 
had only fought against its members; but on seeing they 
could not injure the members while they respected the 
head, they turned their weapons against him too. As they 
could find nothing to condemn in his private life, they blamed 
his doctrine, and raised a cry that his work on Moral 
Theology was full of decisions of too indulgent a nature, 
and above all, that it contained the lax sentiments at¬ 
tributed to the Jesuits. This was a sure means of pro¬ 
ducing a sensation and of exciting suspicion, at that time. 
Thus the whole Congregation became an object of sus¬ 
picion, for it seemed impossible for it to escape the taint 
of the errors of which its founder was accused. But God, 
who kills and brings to life, caused this same Moral 
Theology to be approved by the king at the very time that 
its adversaries expected to see it condemned. Some copies 
of the work were sent from Naples and reached the cus¬ 
tom-house, where they were stopped by the king’s procura¬ 
tor-general, who was prejudiced against it, and wished it to 
be examined with all possible strictness by a Conventual 
Father. This learned religious assured him in the report, 
that the doctrine was perfectly sound, and that there was 
not any proposition which deserved censure. The pro¬ 
curator was rejoiced at this news, and regretted having 
been obliged to give pain to the saintly old man. It was 
thus that Heaven frustrated the plots of the wicked, and 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


375 


turned them to the confusion of their authors and the glory 
of the servant of God. 

D. Maffey and Baron Sarnelli, on the other hand, were 
impatient for the overthrow of the Congregation, and did 
all they could, in order to accelerate the coming of the day 
when the debates occasioned by their accusations w r ere to 
be held in the royal court; and as they flattered themselves 
with the expectation of victory, they were continually mul¬ 
tiplying petitions for hastening this day, which they re¬ 
garded as that of the Missionaries’ defeat. These, and 
especially F. Villani, again begged Alphonsus to go and 
cast himself personally at the feet of the king. He replied 
to them with a smile: “ What a figure I should cut before 
the king in my present state! Would he not take me for a 
phantom, and order me out of his presence ? My brothers, 
let us place ourselves in God’s hands and let us not trust 
in human means; for the Congregation is a divine work, and 
not the w’ork of man, who is incapable of supporting it.” 
The adversaries succeeded in fixing the opening of the de¬ 
bates in the royal court for the 24th of December. But 
while they endeavored to move heaven and earth in order 
to injure the Missionaries, Alphonsus, on his side, as he 
was accustomed, did not neglect anything in order to ob¬ 
tain God’s mercy. Besides the accustomed penances and 
mortifications, he had recourse again to the celebration of 
Masses, the prayers of pious souls, and alms. By his order 
the Blessed Sacrament was exposed in all the houses, and 
the psalm “ Qui habitat ” was recited in common in the 
church, together with an Ave to the Blessed Virgin for the 
persecutors. Another cause of trouble arose, which was 
unlooked for. As the Missionaries kept on the defensive, 
the attacks of the accusation were immediately warded off* 
by their counsel, so that the projectors began to fear that all 
the plots which they had contrived would be useless, and 
that the truth w r ould be manifest to the sight of the royal 
counsellors. They therefore thought of a fresh contri¬ 
vance; by means of a protector who supported them with 
the ministers, they managed so that the end of the debate 


376 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


should not take place before the royal council, and that 
the papers containing the complaints and wrongs, (or rather 
the calumnies of the adversaries,) should pass through the 
hands of the commissioner, Ferdinand de Leo, who was 
to make himself acquainted with their contents, and to 
make his report of them to the royal court. The appoint¬ 
ment of this commissioner took away from the Missionaries 
all hope ; for he was an enemy to all new monasteries in 
the kingdom, as well as new institutes, and indeed he 
could scarcely bear the ancient ones. And from some 
words he had dropped, they could easily conjecture how 
unfavorable his report would be. 

The Missionaries had manifested a wish to come to an 
amicable arrangement with Sarnelli, for three years, and 
some mediators had labored to manage so that he should 
keep the vineyard left to the Congregation by his brother, 
and give a sum of money in compensation for the pious 
works his brother had intended to establish, but Alphonsus 
thought that he ought in conscience to oppose such an 
arrangement: “ I must weigh these matters well,” he wrote 
to F. Majone, on the 4th of December, 1774. “ If this 

conciliatory plan should ever be acted on, I shall have to 
consult the learned and those versed in spiritual matters, 
in order to put my conscience to rest;” and to F. D. Mat¬ 
thias Corrado, he wrote : “ In case I were to give up the 
vineyard to the Baron, in return for the equivalent indem¬ 
nity, my conscience would become uneasy, for I should 
have interpreted the wishes of the dead man.” But there 
was no need of all this; the Baron, who believed himself 
sure of victory, wanted to enter into possession of the pro¬ 
perty without being obliged to give an account of the 
charitable intentions of his brother’s will. 

As the Congregation was in imminent danger of being- 
destroyed, Alphonsus was advised to write to Naples in 
order to gain the patronage of a lady who had great influ¬ 
ence with the procurator; but as he entertained some fears 
that God might be displeased at it, he replied as follows, to 
F. Majone: “ I will never do such a thing ; let the Congrega- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 377 

tion be destroyed rather than become the occasion for even 
the shadow of any sin.” 

The tears of the just are never shed in vain, and the 
Lord, who never permits them to be persecuted except to 
show forth His mercy and His glory more brightly, also com¬ 
forted Alphonsus in the midst of these trying circumstances. 
The inhabitants of Girgenti had never ceased to petition 
for the return of the Missionaries, as we have already seen. 
The Prince of Trabbia amongst others, who enjoyed the 
king’s favor, did not forget to intercede for them with his 
majesty, through the medium of his brother, the bishop. 
The king gave a favorable hearing to these representations, 
and permitted them to return to the island, by a royal de¬ 
cree. Their adversaries, on seeing their wishes thus de¬ 
feated, put an end to their intrigues, and Alphonsus, 
having, in concert with the bishops, decided on the return 
of the Missionaries, their departure took place in April, 
1775. In order to render their entrance into Girgenti as 
glorious as possible, Mgr. Lanza had wished them to stop 
at Aragone, three miles from the town, there to be met and 
received by a brilliant suite of carriages and a retinue of 
ecclesiastics and gentlemen, but the Fathers declined this 
honor. However, several carriages and persons of dis¬ 
tinction came to meet them, though they had not an¬ 
nounced the time of their arrival; and they were received 
at the gates of Girgenti by the clergy and the citizens, who 
were perfectly delighted to see them. When Mgr. Lanza 
saw them again, he could not help exclaiming with the 
holy old Simeon : “ Now dost Thou dismiss Thy servant, 0 
Lord, according to Thy words, in peace ; because mine eyes 
have seen Thy salvation !” And in fact, on the 23d of this 
same month of May, this zealous and worthy prelate fell 
asleep in the arms of the Missionaries, to go and enter into 
eternal rest. However, God provided them another pro¬ 
tector, and one as full of zeal and love for the Congrega¬ 
tion, in his eminence, Cardinal Branciforti, who succeeded 
him in February of the following year, 1776. 

32* 


378 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


CHAPTER XXVII. 

Alphonsus' zeal during his Episcopate in reforming his secu¬ 
lar and regular Clergy—in removing scandals in general , 
and preventing sin in all classes of the Laity. How God 
assists him in his efforts. 

H AVING now reached the termination of Alphonsus’ 
episcopate, when he resigned the bishopric and re¬ 
tired into his Congregation, it is not right that we should 
follow him into his retreat, without giving more in detail 
an account of his conduct in the administration of his dio¬ 
cese, as otherwise we should omit many particulars and 
many of his maxims and actions, which will manifest more 
especially his virtues and his zeal during his government. 
F. Caputo thus describes the holy bishop’s conduct in his 
endeavors to make his clergy edifying and worthy of the 
sacred ministry: <; His lordship’s first reproof was full of 
sweetness and humility ; if he saw no amendment, he gave 
a second reprimand of mingled sweetness and severity. If 
after this he found that the person was incorrigible, chas¬ 
tisement soon followed, and in such a case if the king and 
the Pope himself had wished to interpose in his favor, they 
would have met with a refusal.” Amongst all the sins, 
drunkenness and incontinence, were those he abhorred 
the most. He said that the drunkard is not a man, but a 
brute; that one can even expect more from the brute than 
from the drunkard; and he looked upon drunkenness as 
the source of the most infamous vices: it was, in his eyes, 
even when indulged in only in private, a complete dis¬ 
honor to a minister of the Church. He had an equal 
abomination for the vice of impurity, and was in the habit 
or saying, that he saw no difference between a sow which 
wallows in the mire, and a man who is addicted to this 
vice. He compassionated him who had made a false step 
through weakness, but he could not put up with him who 
was the voluntary and obstinate slave of passion. He had 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


379 


always salutary remedies at hand for the first, and did not 
recur to very severe measures with them; his principal 
mode of causing them to think seriously was the spiritual 
exercises. But when he saw that the vice had taken root, 
he did not make any compromise, but used the strongest 
methods for destroying the evil. One day, not knowing 
what more to do in order to cure one of these miserable 
men, he sent for him to speak to him, but took care to 
place a large crucifix on the floor at the entrance of his 
room. On seeing this, the wretched man was seized with 
terror and wanted to draw back. “No,” said Alphonsus, 
“enter and trample it underfoot, it would not be perhaps 
the first time.” He then gave free vent to the ardor of his 
zeal, and set before him the enormity of his sin. The 
guilty man was full of confusion and repentance; he burst 
into tears, and promised to amend; and really did so, 
giving afterwards full satisfaction to his bishop. When he 
had in vain exhausted mild measures, in trying to deliver 
men from these passions, his ordinary remedies were exile 
and suspension; exile, in order to break through the at¬ 
tachment, and suspension, to avenge the dignity of the 
sacred ministry. He had also recourse to the aid of the 
secular power, when there was need, (as we have seen 
him do in his visitations,) and no personal considerations 
were ever able to move him, or shake his firmness. His 
severity in regard to the refractory was so well known, that 
it soon was a commonly received opinion in the diocese, 
that if one had begun to be an object of the bishop’s 
watchful observation, there was no further chance of rest 
for him unless he gave clear proofs of amendment. God 
also assisted him by exemplary chastisements. One of 
these weak men he had warned in a paternal manner, but 
when he saw that he fell back into vice again, he had him 
shut up in the prison of St. Agatha; even after this chas¬ 
tisement, the miserable man did not amend: “Let him 
alone,” he said then to the episcopal vicar, “ God’s justice 
will reach him.” He was carried off by sudden death 
some time afterwards, although he was in the prime of life. 


380 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


In his dealings towards those whom he had suspended 
or banished, he never lost sight of the spirit of charity, es¬ 
pecially when sin was united to poverty. He once sent 
for one whose conduct scandalized the people, and kept 
him for a fortnight in his palace, after which he sent him 
to the house of St. Angelo, at his own expense. Another, 
also, was kept for a long while in the house of Ciorani, 
and supported at his cost. The same course was pursued 
towards a great many others. Two others, whom he had 
suspended and banished out of the diocese, received from 
him two carlins a day for their maintenance j to others, 
who were suspended, he assigned an adequate indemni¬ 
fication for their fees out of his own revenue, till after a 
lapse of time, he thought them in a right state of mind, and 
sent them the pardon, with the power of celebrating. 

His inflexibility towards those who remained obstinate 
in sin, changed into mercy, when he saw that they re¬ 
pented. He had even an admirable degree of charity for 
those whom he had reproved and who gave proof of real 
amendment; he received them to his arms with all the ten¬ 
derness of a father, and put an end to all proceedings 
begun against them in the ecclesiastical court. One, be¬ 
longing to a noble and distinguished family, who lived in a 
scandalous way, had been sent for three times, but he did 
not deign to give any satisfaction. Alphonsus told his 
Grand-Vicar to prepare the cause, and gave orders that he 
should not be shown in if he should come to speak to him, 
but should be sent to the Grand-Vicar. The culprit not 
being willing to see his name figure in the courts of jus¬ 
tice, hastened to the palace; but being refused admittance, 
he made a great noise in the ante-chamber, so that Alphon¬ 
sus, who was making his meditation, in bed, sent for his 
secretary in order to have silence kept, but at the same 
moment he entered after the secretary. Alphonsus, on 
seeing him, told him to go to the Grand-Vicar, but the gen¬ 
tleman fell on his knees at the foot of his bed and said: 
“ I do not know the Vicar, but I acknowledge Mgr. Liguori 
as my father.” At these words, Alphonsus became affected : 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


381 


n My son, J he said, “I sent for you and you did not 
come; I was obliged to place you in the hands of justice; 
you know what scandals you have given.” The culprit 
was ashamed, began to shed tears, and after confessing his 
faults, said : “ Do whatever you please with me.” “ Since 
you acknowledge your fault,” said then Alphonsus, “and 
confess the truth to me, I leave you to chose your penance 
yourself.” “ I choose the house of St. Angelo for my 
place of retirement,” he answered, sobbing, “and only 
when God tells me that He has forgiven me, then only will 
I depart from it.” Alphonsus, on seeing that his repent¬ 
ance was sincere, sent for the papers connected with his 
suit, and said to him while tearing them: “My son, may 
God do the same in heaven.” He went to St. Angelo, 
and remained there for a month, and was afterwards a 
source of edification to all. 

But if impurity and drunkenness were the two vices 
which he was the most zealous in extirpating, he was 
equally an enemy to every other kind of irregularity, and 
the slightest fault was a considerable sin in his eyes. He 
took the greatest care to be informed of the conduct of 
each and all, so that no distance could shelter any one. 
On one occasion, the culprits finding themselves reproved 
without being able to discover how Alphonsus had been 
informed as to their conduct, exclaimed : “It is either an 
angel or a devil who betrays us, and tells him every thing.” 
By this indefatigable zeal and by the assistance of divine 
grace, he succeeded in doing away with a great number of 
scandals in his diocese, and he insensibly worked a reason¬ 
able reform among the clergy. A gentleman, on hearing 
once that he was seriously ill and in danger of death, re¬ 
plied to those who announced these sad tidings to him : 
“ St. Agatha will lose a great deal if Mgr. Liguori dies. 
Who cannot see what regularity his zeal has succeeded in 
establishing amongst so many who formerly lived in a state 
of the most deplorable licentiousness?” As to the regular 
clergy, Alphonsus said : “ Edifying religious are a conso¬ 
lation to bishops and priests, but if they are imperfect and 


382 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


irregular, they are a burthen to their bishops and a misfor¬ 
tune to the people.” Therefore when he met with such, 
he did all he could to amend them : “For if they are not 
cured, said he, “ their malady will be communicated to 
others; it is with them as it is with fruits—those which are 
bad spoil the good by contact with them, and in order to 
avoid the loss of all, it is necessary to throw the bad away.” 
He, therefore, besictes private admonitions and reprimands, 
had recourse to their superiors and provincials, and if 
speedy amendment did not follow, insisted on their being 
sent away from his diocese, and showed so much firmness 
that the superiors had to make up their minds to yield, and 
the religious had to be transferred elsewhere without loss of 
time. On one occasion, a religious frequenting a family of 
high rank too assiduously, Alphonsus urged his superior to 
send him to another monastery, but in vain. As just con¬ 
siderations prevented his then authoritatively exacting what 
he had asked, he determined at least to deprive the su¬ 
perior of the faculties to hear confessions, saying to him : 
“ How can you feed the flocks of others, if you allow 
wolves to ravage your own with impunity?” And he was 
not satisfied until this religious was out of his diocese. 
Another, who was a dishonor to his Order, not heeding 
the paternal admonitions he had given him, was advised to 
leave the diocese of his own accord. This religious en¬ 
joyed the favor of his superior-general, who endeavored to 
defend him. Other great personages also interceded for 
him, but Alphonsus persisted, and he had to go away. In 
the year 1769, when he was at Naples, the Duke of Mad- 
dalon came in person to solicit the return of this religious, 
but he could not succeed. “Even supposing all the re¬ 
ports of his amendment were well founded,” he said, “ he 
has not acted in this way for a sufficiently long time, and 
then he is now so much older. As long as I am bishop,” 
he added, “he shall not enter my diocese.” 

When the immediate superiors and the provincials would 
not assist him in thus purging the monasteries from reli¬ 
gious who were a dishonour to them, he had recourse to 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


383 


more rigorous measures, and in order not to do any thing to 
the prejudice of regulars, he applied at Rome to the gene¬ 
ral of the Order to which the culprit belonged, and when he 
met with negligence even in the generals, he implored the 
intervention of the king; many instances in which he had 
recourse to both of these methods are on record. Thus, in 
the year 1768 alone, when he especially labored to purify 
the monasteries, he expelled as many as fifty-two religious, 
according to the testimony of F. Caputo. “The superiors 
of the Order, besides, knew him too well,” said his Grand- 
Vicar Rubini, “ and often hastened to send away certain 
subjects who were displeasing to him, of their own accord. 
I can truly say,” he added, “ that during his lordship’s 
time, the monasteries of the diocese were as so many gar¬ 
dens, where all breathed forth the sweet odors of innocence 
and virtue.” But on the other hand, he took as much 
pleasure, in being able to honor by his kindness those re¬ 
ligious who proved worthy of their vocation, as he was 
resolute in punishing those who were dissolute and un¬ 
worthy. He entrusted them with important employments, 
and chose them for synodal examiners. It was to them 
that he confided the care of the convents ; he liked to send 
them to preach during Lent in different places, and often 
consulted them and rewarded their merit. 

Alphonsus waged an equally severe warfare against the 
laity, whose irregularities were an injury to religion and 
morality. “I am not merely the shepherd of priests and 
religious,” said he, “they form but a part of my flock. 
The flock confided to bishops includes all classes; God 
has committed all these souls to us, and we must render 
him an account of them.” “We may be assured,” said a 
priest on this subject, “ that there never was a bishop in 
the world who employed himself in putting a stop to 
offences against God, and in procuring the good of the 
faithful, with more ardor than Mgr. Liguori. He held sin 
in such abomination that he was implacable in hunting it 
out, even from its most hidden entrenchments.” To this 
end, he secured to himself the assistance of the magistrates 


384 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


and syndics of the villages, recommending them, with tears 
in his eyes, to seek after the glory of God and the happi¬ 
ness of families. “You can do what I cannot do,” he 
said to them, “ you can remedy every thing, for you are 
on the spot; you can do more than the king.” Besides, 
he spent a good part of his revenues in making presents 
to persons who could inform him of existing scandals, and 
he possessed so much influence with the lords of the places, 
that he caused chastisements to be inflicted on the guilty 
persons; they were imprisoned, or sent away from the 
places in which they lived, and if this did not stop the 
evil or scandal, he had recourse to the king, to have them 
banished from the diocese. But before coming to these 
extremities, he made it a rule to try all the methods he 
could adopt as a father. He sent, several times, if need¬ 
ful, for the offender, and, whether peasant, or gentleman, 
reprimanded and threatened him. If that were not enough, 
he had recourse to the interposition of the friends of the 
guilty one, or of those who had influence over him ; but 
as soon as he was convinced of the inutility of such cor¬ 
rection, he adopted rigorous measures. Of all this we 
could relate instances by thousands, as such facts w T ere of 
almost daily occurrence in the life of our zealous bishop. 
We shall however confine ourselves to a few, in which, 
one or another of the virtues of the saint, or some other 
divine favor bestowed on him, particularly shines forth. 

He was informed that a physician at St. Agatha had 
improper relations with the mistress of the hospital; he 
did all he could to convert him, but on finding that his 
remonstrances were useless, he wrote to the president of 
the council and superintendent of the house. He dismissed 
the doctor from his employment, who thereupon came to 
the bishop in a fury, and loaded him with a thousand in¬ 
vectives. “ My son,” said Alphonsus to him, “ you 
brought this misfortune on yourself; remember how many 
times I reproved you with mildness and charity, but you 
were deaf to my voice: if I haver had recourse to a more 
powerful arm, it has not been through passion, but on 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


38 


account of the scruples which my allowing you to go on 
in sin caused me.” 

A gentleman of high standing, whose conduct was ex- 
tremely scandalous, on seeing that his lordship thwarted 
him in his excesses, went to him, and, transported with 
anger, reproached him for not letting him alone. AI- 
phonsus only answered by still stronger threats, and declared 
to him that he would inform the king of it; at these words 
the gentleman got up in a great fury, loaded his bishop 
with invectives, and made a gesture as if he meant to draw 
his sword. The alarm which he spread caused all the 
people of the house to run into the room, where they found 
Alphonsus perfectly calm before his aggressor. “Ill-treat 
me,” he said to him, “ abuse me, if you like, I do my 
duty: I did not accept the episcopate in order to be 
damned. Would to God that I might have the honor to 
die a martyr! My dear child, I pity you! return from your 
evil ways, but know that I >vill never leave you at peace 
in your sin.” 

A stranger, who was an officer, carried on an adulterous 
intercourse at St. Agatha, and Alphonsus warned him 
several times. The officer was tired of these troublesome 
reprimands, and constantly repeated in vexation, “what 
does this withered old man want?” He even used 
menaces, and went so far, that fear was entertained for 
the saint’s life. They informed him of this and of the 
violent character of the officer; but, fortified with the 
heart of an apostle, he answered: “I have no cause to* 
fear him; if he wishes to send a ball through my head, I am 
ready to die, but I am determined that he shall put an end 
to his excesses.” As the scandal continued the same as 
ever, he informed the chevalier Negroni of it, who caused 
the woman to be banished, and compelled the officer to 
submit to the shame of coming to promise amendment at 
the feet of the bishop. 

Being informed that a woman of Arienzo lived in sin, 
and apart from her husband, he immediately sent his 
secretary to the governor’s house, but not finding him in* 
33 


386 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


the secretary did not take the trouble of going back to 
him again. After the lapse of a short time, Alphonsus 
did not forget to inquire into the result of the visit. The 
secretary wanted to excuse himself, and said that he had 
not been able to see the magistrate, and had not had time to 
go to his house again. Alphonsus was exceedingly pained 
at this negligence : “ 0 Felix,” he said to him, with deep 
sorrow, “ when an offence against God is in question, we 
should leave every thing to put a stop to it.” He sent 
him back to the governor’s with all speed, and did not 
become tranquil again until he knew that the woman was 
in prison. Another day, the grand-vicar came to him just 
as he was taking his repast, in bed : “ We have bad news,” 
he said to him, “ a most suspicious stranger has come to 
establish herself at Arienzo.” “ Only one,” replied Al¬ 
phonsus, laughing, “ we shall have more than one ; adven¬ 
turers of this sort never come singly.” The secretary and 
the grand-vicar fancied that these tidings had made no 
great impression on him ; but they were mistaken. He 
had scarcely finished his meal before he dismissed every 
one, and sent for Br. Francis, to dictate to him a most 
energetic letter to the Count of Cereto; informing him 
of the scandal, and begging him to send to Arienzo im¬ 
mediately, that it might be forcibly removed. On the 
same evening four soldiers drove away the infamous 
woman. 

He expended a good deal of money in similar cases ; 
he had to pay large sums to the inferior people whom he 
employed, and even to the higher officers, but there was 
no sacrifice he was not ready to make in order to hinder 
an offence against God, or to extricate some unhappy crea¬ 
ture from sin and misery. Having heard that several 
soldiers in his diocese gave themselves up to shameful ex¬ 
cesses, he immediately wrote a letter, the result of which 
was, that the regiment’s quarters were changed, and that 
the commanding officer received the strictest orders to 
take care that none of the men came near that place 
again. An inhabitant, who had derived benefit from the 


LIFE OF ST. A.LPHONSUS. 


387 


troops being quartered there, went to complain of their 
going away and to expose his distress to Alphonsus; he 
was touched with compassion, and sent for one of the 
syndics of the parish, and begged him to give the peti¬ 
tioner something in compensation. The syndic replied 
that he could not take it upon himself, and the others got 
out of it in the same way, and Alphonsus ended by himself 
indemnifying the man who had recourse to him, in order 
not to incur the danger of a return of the military to the 
place through the complaints and intrigues of interested 
parties. 

Alphonsus, hearing that a prostitute after a banishment 
of eleven years had come back, wrote the following letter 
to the priest of the place: “ As this woman has come 
back here again, let her know from me that I will give her 
six carlins every month if she conducts herself properly; 
but I must first be convinced as to her persevering.” On 
hearing that a poor widow had caused the ruin of her two 
daughters, he gave her a severe reprimand ; she was con¬ 
verted however, whereupon he assigned to her, as well as to 
each of her children, a daily allowance of money, besides 
many alms in furniture, clothes, &c., in order that by ad¬ 
ding to these gifts the fruits of their own labors, they might 
have enough to live on honestly. Another, returning to 
the diocese after being converted, he let her know that, if 
she persevered, he would insure her an allowance of fifteen 
carlins a month. A wicked girl, who had ruined both her 
body and soul by her debaucheries, when she was reduced 
to the last extremity, applied to the house of the Incura¬ 
bles at Naples; Alphonsus hastened to recommend her 
to the notice of several priests, and the unhappy creature 
at last opened her eyes and wept over her past misconduct. 
This moved him to tears, and he wrote to one of those 
priests: “I have sent for the mother, she appears to me 
to be a good woman, although she is very poor; for this 
reason I intend to send her to Naples to seek her daughter. 
I have promised to assist her and to give her a monthly 
allowance, but I hear that the girl is in the greatest desti- 


388 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


tution ; she must then be clothed from head to foot. Will 
you have the charity to provide for this at my expense, but 
with as little outlay as possible ? First, procure for her two 
new chemises, a kerchief for the head, and another for the 
neck, a serge petticoat, an underdress of canvass, a 
mantle, a pair of white stockings, and a pair of shoes; but 
I do not wish them all to be quite new, because that would 
cost too much. They may be met with at the old-clothes 
shops, where such things may be found in good condition ; 
if one were to take really old goods, the thing would have 
to be done over again next day. I should not take the 
liberty to burthen you with all these commissions, if I did 
not know your great charity.” Who does not admire the 
true minister of the Lord throughout all these details ? 

Archdeacon Rainone attested that he spent considerable 
■sums of money, from the time he came to the diocese, in 
thus aiding a great number whose indigence had led them 
to crime. Nor were these gifts confined to the towns of 
St. Agatha and Arienzo alone, he spread them throughout 
all parts of his diocese without any distinction. The 
curate of the parish of St. Anthony affirmed that Alphon- 
sus assisted a very great number in that place, and caused 
them to receive a stipend every month through his hands; 
other priests and curates affirmed the same of their respec¬ 
tive places. When informed that he was often deceived 
by his goodness; “It matters little if I am deceived,” he 
used to answer, “ provided I thwart the plans of the devil: 
it is no little gain if one can prevent an offence against 
God, were it but for a quarter of an hour; and besides it 
often happens that several abstain from their disorders for 
good.” Archdeacon Rainone also one day told him he 
ought to withdraw the allowance from some whose perse¬ 
verance was doubtful. “That is not certain,” he replied, 
“but if I abandon them, they may perhaps be led to yield 
to despair; and besides, if they commit but one mortal 
sin less, is it not a great thing for God’s glory?” Such 
persons he recommended to the missionaries whom he sent 
through the diocese, and whom he furnished with all they 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


389 


could require for such purposes. A priest was speaking 
one day to him of the good dispositions which two of 
these women manifested, when he replied to him: ** I am 
ready to give my blood and my life for them ; and if they 
act with sincerity, I will not fail to assist them, were I 
obliged to go without my food to do so.” Alphonsus put 
the finishing stroke to his zeal by causing a great number of 
these penitents to enter into the married state, and, in 
order to establish them, he often did not hesitate to contri¬ 
bute from thirty to forty ducats for their portion, but this 
he especially tried to do in good time; as soon as he 
heard of any young person’s deviating from the right path, 
he immediately endeavored to get her married, attaching 
at the same time the greatest importance to its being to 
her seducer. One day, a Father of his congregation, while 
on a mission in the diocese, came to see him to settle 
about six marriages of this sort in one place alone. Be¬ 
sides dispensing in such cases with all his fees, he willingly 
procured the necessary dispenses at his own expense; and 
when it happened at times that his own means were not 
enough for the charity of his heart, he had recourse to the 
charity of those in affluent circumstances, and to the 
houses of relief. These unions were generally happy ones. 
“ It is true,” he said, “ that there are certain kinds of 
forced unions of which I cannot approve ; but of two 
evils, one must choose the least.” 

He succeeded also in placing a good number of such 
penitents in the convents, at Naples, and at Nola, not¬ 
withstanding the great difficulties he often had to surmount 
in so doing, and this was always the greatest consolation 
to his heart. He was often obliged to go to expense for 
this purpose; the superior of the asylum of St. Raphael, 
at Naples, once agreed to such a request, on the condition 
that he would furnish the applicant with her wardrobe, and 
he did so cheerfully. Certain missionaries, giving in the 
year 1765 the mission in the diocese of Bojano, met with 
a married woman who lived in a state of concubinage. 
She told them in confession that she belonged to Trasso, 
33* 


390 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


which was in Mgr. Liguori’s diocese, and added that the 
child she had with her was by her lawful husband. The 
missionaries lost no time in informing Alphonsus of all 
this, and the saintly old man, filled with very great joy at 
seeing the sincere repentance of this woman and her 
wish to enter a convent, succeeded in placing her in the 
refuge of St. Clare, at Naples; where he supplied her 
with what necessaries she required, and besides many 
other gifts, assigned her an unusual pension of thirty-six 
ducats. He had the little child brought up at St. Agatha, 
and when old enough, maintained him at Naples at his 
own expense, in order that he might learn a trade. 
After this woman had been thus supported for five years, 
her husband died, and she had the opportunity of making 
an honorable second marriage, and Alphonsus did not 
fail to assist her to the end with his accustomed generosity. 

Besides all this, hundreds of poor girls owed the 
preservation of their honor to his alms-deeds. Without 
entering into a detailed account of the assistance he ren¬ 
dered them, we shall confine ourselves to saying that he 
went so far as even to procure innocent adornments for 
them, in order to take away from them all temptation to 
envy or to sin. That which gave him the greatest alarm 
was, when any engagement of marriage took place 
between young people whose parents refused to consent 
to it. When this occurred, he sent for the parents, in 
order to ascertain whether the grounds of their opposition 
were reasonable; he united with the priests in doing all 
that was possible, either to break off engagements entered 
into rashly, or to overcome the opposition of parents 
by showing that delay on their part must inevitably lead 
to sin. It often happened therefore that young people 
who wished to settle, but were unjustly prevented from 
so doing by their parents, had recourse to the saintly 
Bishop, who immediately sent for the parents and managed 
so well that he obtained their consent. When young 
people had given public scandal by illicit intercourse, 
their marriage was preceded by a public penance at the 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


391 


door of the church. He always most carefully tried to 
stifle evil in its beginning. A troop of actors came to St. 
Agatha, intending to remain there. He at once entreated 
for the aid of the Duke of Maddalon’s arm against them, 
and succeeded in getting an order for their withdrawal. 
They begged for one day’s delay, in order to act a play 
which they said was very good indeed ; but there was no 
reprieve for them, and they were obliged to set out at once. 
Not being able to prevent, in the time of Carnival, the 
representation of a play about which the gentlemen of 
Airola had arranged, he asked that he might at least be 
allowed to read it, and they were obliged to submit to act 
it with the retrenchments he made in it. He did not fail 
to manifest his great displeasure to one of the gentlemen : 
“ You are men of age,” he said to him, “ and this is the 
example you give to the young! Ido not know how you 
will be able to think of it at the hour of death.” One day, 
some mountebanks arrived at Arienzo, accompanied by 
two young female rope dancers, who were dressed up as 
men. As soon as Alphonsus was informed of it, he ap¬ 
plied both to the Governor and to the agent of the Duke, 
in order that they might be sent away. The players quitted 
the town, saying they were going to Naples, but they 
stopped at Airola. “ I thought that they had left my dio¬ 
cese,” he immediately wrote to the Prince della Riccia, 
“but yesterday I had the sorrow of hearing that they are 
at Airola, and that they mean to perform in your excel¬ 
lency’s palace. I must entreat you to send your orders to 
Airola, and prevent its being thought that you consent to 
this.” Nothing more was necessary to cause them to be 
banished from the diocese. 

He dreaded the disorders too common in large assem¬ 
blages, even those which had religion as their end, and he 
was therefore in the habit of suspending the confessors for 
reserved cases, on fetes where there was too great a con¬ 
course of people. “This is the way,” he said, “to pre¬ 
vent people from coming to unburthen their consciences 
without any fruit, and then from loading them with new 


392 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


sins through the contempt they show for the sacraments.” 
At Arienzo, on Christmas night, the people were in the 
habit of oroino- out of the town, with the inhabitants of the 
adjoining villages, to assist at the offices in the church of 
the Capuchin Fathers. There was no devotion in this; on 
the contrary, this concourse of people of both sexes gave 
opportunity for all sorts of disorders. In order to put a 
stop to these evils, Alphonsus wished to be present in per¬ 
son, but the doctors opposed this, on account of the ob¬ 
vious danger there was that it might kill him. He then 
forbade the church to be opened before six o’clock in the 
morning, and he afterwards issued the same prohibition in 
regard to all the other churches. 

He also looked on himself as the peace-maker of his 
people, and took all possible pains to reconcile spirits at 
variance with each other, and to put a stop to discord and 
prevent its spread in families, and much more so among 
the clergy. Out of many facts on record, let us relate the 
two following. One day, at Airola, when on his pastoral 
visitation, he heard that a young man had been mortally 
wounded in a combat; he immediately hastened to see the 
unhappy man, and manifested all the feeling of a tender 
father towards him, and assured him that he would assist 
both himself and his family; and having appeased his re¬ 
sentment, he succeeded in obtaining from him the pardon 
of his murderer. Another day, he heard that two young 
gentlemen had challenged each other to fight a duel; he 
instantly sent for both, and represented to them the conse¬ 
quences of their guilty project, and did not dismiss them 
until he felt sure that his remonstrance had been effectual. 

This barbarous custom of duelling caused Alphonsus 
great grief, and he addressed a memorial to the king to try 
and get him to be severe in punishing the ferocious prac¬ 
tice. He had embodied therein all the various dispositions 
both of the canon law, and the civil law of different coun¬ 
tries, with the arguments from reason, against this detest¬ 
able custom. His zeal was not unfruitful, for his petition 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


393 


obtained the promulgation of a very severe law against 

duelling. 

© 

Among the vices which Alphonsus combated the most 
vigorously was that of blasphemy. As the law, which re¬ 
quired those guilty of it to be punished at the public square 
with a bitin their mouths, had been abolished, he enjoined 
the magistrates to punish them by at least imprisoning 
them. He had sent several times for a public crier, who, 
from having been once a novice with the Capuchins, had 
become a horrible blasphemer—in order to warn and cor¬ 
rect him paternally, but he always had refused to come. 
One day he commissioned his servant Alexis to bring him 
in the palace, on the pretext of inquiring about the price 
of corn, but when he saw him, Alphonsus said: “It is not 
the price of corn, but you that I am anxious about; I hear 
that there is not a saint whom you do not blasphemehe 
then threatened to have him arrested and condemned to 
the galleys. The crier was so terrified that he left off his 
guilty habit, from that day forward. He died shortly after, 
in sentiments of penitence and resignation. 

Another blasphemer, at Forchia, had been excommuni¬ 
cated for several years, and persisted in his impenitence. 
Alphonsus, unable to put up with him any longer, applied 
to the Prince of Riccia to have his trial got ready; how¬ 
ever, he once more tried to win him by paternal counsels, 
and sent for him to the palace. As the man did not ven¬ 
ture to appear before him, Alphonsus inquired as to the 
time when he would pass through the street; he then went 
to the window and called him by his name; then putting 
his hand on his head, he reproved him kindly, and repre¬ 
sented to him the impiety of his words. He was overcome 
by this excessive goodness, humbled himself and was con¬ 
verted. Alphonsus sent him to confession the next morn¬ 
ing, and wished him, in order to repair the scandal he had 
given, to remain, before being admitted to holy com¬ 
munion, at the church door for three Sundays, with a heavy 
cross on his shoulders and a large stone hung round his 
neck. He submitted to every thing, and his return to God 


394 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


was so sincere, that he lived as a good Christian from that 
time; he approached the sacraments every eight days, and 
became a member of the Society of the Rosary. 

Another, who was not satisfied with insulting the Saints, 
but went to the length of reviling God himself and of 
blaspheming against heaven, had already been imprisoned 
for his blasphemies, but he had begun them again, and 
was worse than before; after this a monition had been 
issued against him, without success, by the ecclesiastical 
court. Alphonsusgot the Prince della Riccia to cause sen¬ 
tence to be pronounced against him as an incorrigible. 
He had therefore to spend many a dreary day in prison, and 
his purse suffered as well as his person, through the fines 
he was obliged to pay to justice. 

His severity in punishing those who did not fulfil the 
Paschal precept, was not stopped by any earthly considera¬ 
tions; even the first gentlemen had to submit to see their 
names affixed to the church door, and if the Church’s 
power were not strong enough to compel them to do their 
duty, he implored the intervention of the temporal lords. 
Thus he wrote once to the Prince della Riccia, saying: 
“For some years N. has not fulfilled the Paschal precept, 
on a false pretence of insanity, and worse than this, he has 
prevented his sister from frequenting the sacraments. I 
know that your excellency is full of zeal for the salvation 
of your vassals, and therefore I am sure that you will give 
orders to have this scandal remedied.” And in order to 
lessen the difficulties in the way of the punishment of the 
culprit, he offered to keep him in prison at his own ex¬ 
pense. His request was granted ; the pretended maniac 
was put in prison, and his sister was thus enabled to fulfil 
her duties with all freedom. 

He had ordered the priests to refuse the sacraments to 
those who gave public scandal or neglected their duties, 
however noble they might be, and he set them the example 
himself. All his charitable efforts to cause a gentleman, 
who was a notorious adulterer, to think seriously, failed ut¬ 
terly, and yet this person presented himself to receive the 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


395 


Holy Communion on Holy Thursday : Alphonsus, who was 
administering the Holy Communion to the people, stopped 
short before him, and said to him: “What! do )>ou not 
blush to approach the altar? We do not give pearls to 
swine here. Unhappy man! change your mode of life.” 
At these words he passed on and left him full of confusion. 

These are some of the many striking instances of our 
Saint’s admirable zeal, which might at first sight seem ex¬ 
cessive, but which was nothing more than the necessary 
consequence of his ardor for the glory of God and his dread 
of the awful account he felt he must one day render to him. 
This thought of the responsibility of a bishop made him 
really tremble. Mgr. Albertini asked him, one day, how 
many souls he had in his diocese. “There are forty thou¬ 
sand,” Alphonsus replied. “There are as many in mine,” 
said Mgr. Albertini;” upon which Alphonsus bent his head 
several times, and added: “My Lord, we have each of us 
a burden of forty thousand hundred-weight on our shoul¬ 
ders; woe to us if one of these souls be lost through our 
negligence!” 

This zeal of our Saint was so pleasing to God that He 
assisted him in a particular manner by the blessings with 
which He favored his efforts, viz : by striking punishments 
inflicted on the incorrigible, and by particular lights from on 
high. “It was a marvellous thing,” said a priest, “that 
what we were ignorant of, was always known to his lord- 
ship. Many times, iniquity was committed at night in the 
country, or in a distant village, yet the day had scarcely 
dawned ere we were warned of it at the bishop’s house.” 
We will give an example, which happened at his palace at 
Arienzo. One night, the coachman and the cook tried to 
perpetrate an abominable act, but at the instant when they 
were going to commit the crime, they were suddenly seized 
with fear, and their accomplice, who was as terrified as they 
were, took to flight, and hid herself. As soon as it was 
day, Alphonsus sent for his two servants, reproached them 
with their fault, and exhorted them to confession. 


396 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


At Arienzo, a woman of bad character, who was unhap¬ 
pily an adept in her trade, taught it even to others and had 
several women in her service, receiving strangers at her 
dwelling, particularly soldiers. Alphonsus had several 
times brought her before the courts of justice, but always in 
vain ; on seeing how incorrigible she was, he once said to 
her: “Miserable wretch that you are, you will not give 
over your crimes, but God will know how to put an end 
to them. You will die in a state of damnation, and in a 
most tragic manner.” This prediction was not long in 
being verified ; for the unhappy creature, in order to escape 
from a prison, fled from the town, and was obliged to 
wander about on the neighboring mountains in the depth 
of winter, and was several times forced to sleep in the 
woods. Nevertheless, she came near to the town every 
night to abandon herself to her criminal courses; but the 
companion of her debaucheries, having also been threat¬ 
ened with imprisonment, one evening determined to have 
nothing to do with her, and pursued her, casting stones at 
her. In her flight she fell in a deep ditch, where she died. 
Alphonsus caused her body to be carried, between three 
lighted torches, to the trench into which it was thrown, as 
an example to those of a similar description. 

A cleric, who, for his evil courses, had been imprisoned 
for several years, was at last released and sent by the Prince 
della Riccia to humble himself before Alphonsus. But, 
instead of this, he went and bitterly reproached him for the 
persecutions he had made him suffer. Alphonsus took up 
his book on the “ Way of Salvation ,” and presented it to 
him, saying: “Read this, and you will be satisfied.” But 
the priest went on in the same tone. Alphonsus made no 
reply, but looking at him with compassion and grief at so 
deplorable a state of mind, dismissed him and said: “May 
Jesus Christ have mercy on you, but divine justice is threat¬ 
ening you.” And so it was; he returned to his evil ways, 
and soon afterwards was shot, and thus perished. 

A notary distressed him by his misconduct; after he had 
reprimanded him several times, and always without success, 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


397 


he said to him one day: “My son, the life you lead will 
bring you to a deplorable end;” and putting his hand on 
his shoulder, he repeated, almost weeping: “ Yes! you will 
die a tragic death.” This unhappy man went from bad to 
worse, and at length he was involved in the conspiracy of 
the Jacobins, and was condemned to lose his head on the 
scaffold, in the January of 1800. While he was waitingin 
the chapel for the movement to the place of execution, 
he said weeping to a monk: “This death was foretold me, 
in my youth, by Mgr. Liguori.” This reflection caused 
him to enter into himself with serious thought, and, having 
been hardened till then, he died full of penitence, invoking 
the saint in heaven. 


CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Alphonsus ’ patience in bearing injuries , and great Meekness, 
His admirable Humility. His Spirit of Poverty , Penance 
and Mortification. 

I N spite of the admiration which his zeal generally ex¬ 
cited, those who were its objects were usually offended, 
and resented its effects with bitterness; and it often hap¬ 
pened that in the effervescence of their Italian character, 
they loaded their good bishop with injuries, and nearly laid 
hands on him. How undaunted his courage was, we have 
seen above in similar occurrences, where threats even 
against his life had been uttered. We are going to relate, 
among many facts, some in which shone forth an incom¬ 
parable patience and meekness, united with such charity 
that often he loaded those who offended him with benefits. 
“When charity is patient,” said he, “it is also kind; if we 
are really anxious to win over those who do us harm to 
Jesus Christ, we must do them good.” 

A priest who had an office in the diocese, fancied him¬ 
self offended on account of the manner in which Alphon- 
sus treated his brother, and had the impudence to go to 
34 


398 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


him and heap insults upon him. “Do you not see/’ he 
said, “ that you are unfit to fulfil your duties ? How much 
better it would have been if you had remained at Ciorani 
to weep over your sins, than to come to St. Agatha to fill 
the office of bishop.” Alphonsus answered with a smile. 
The grand-vicar asked that this man should be deprived of 
his post, but he was kept in it, and afterwards was made 
a canon. 

Alphonsus labored to pat an end to the scandalous con¬ 
duct of a certain gentleman ; the latter came to the palace 
full of rage, and asked to see the bishop. The servants 
seeing a man in a great passion, prevented his being ad¬ 
mitted, whereupon he uttered a volley of abuse. This 
scene became talked of, and reached the ears of the go¬ 
vernor, who hastened to put the offender in prison. When 
Alphonsus heard of it he was greatly distressed, and sent 
for the governor, to whom he excused the gentleman, and 
asked for his pardon ; nor did he rest until he had got him 
set at liberty that very day. 

One day, when Alphonsus was driving out, he met a 
villager of bad character, who was full of anger for the cor- 
rection he had received from him ; and who loaded him with 
abuse and bad language. Alphonsus bore it all in silence. 
On his return to the palace, the grand-vicar wanted this 
impudent man to be punished as an example. Alphonsus 
was indignant at the idea, and positively forbade any thing 
of the kind to be attempted. However, the grand-vicar 
informed the governor of it, and the daring offender was 
imprisoned that same evening. Alphonsus heard of it the 
next day; he made loud complaints about it, and de¬ 
manded that the man should be immediately set at liberty : 
in the evening, having heard that the governor had not yet 
done so, he sent for the grand-vicar, and manifested his 
dissatisfaction to him, and as the latter represented to him 
the dignity of his position, he exclaimed : “ What position, 
if it is necessary for people to be put in prison on my ac¬ 
count!” He was not pacified until he had tidings of the 
release of the offender. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


399 


A priest who was convicted of falsehood and serious 
deception towards his bishop, was so far from humbling 
himself in consequence, that he even uttered a torrent 
of abusive language against him. “ I am on the point o 
abandoning my home in order not to be under you any 
longer,” he said to him, amongst many other disrespectful 
things. From the fear of making him still more angry, the 
saintly man quietly replied: “My son, what do you wish 
me to say to you? You are right, and I am wrong; calm 
yourself I entreat youhe then made him sit down near 
him and tried to pacify him. 

Another day, a priest came in who set up claims to a 
prebend, of which he was totally unworthy. Alphonsus 
gave him a tacit refusal, by saying that he had promised it 
to another. At these words the priest got outrageously 
angry, and assailed his bishop with the most abusive in¬ 
vectives. “Is it you they call a saint!” he said. “A 
pretty kind of sanctity yours is ! He only is a saint who 
knows how to be just.” Alphonsus listened in silence, but 
on seeing that he went on, he said to him gently: “ This is 
too muchand taking up his pen again, he went on with 
his work. The other went on abusing him in the same 
tone, until he had vented all his spleen. The eye-witness 
of this scene stated that Alphonsus seemed like a marble 
statue all the time, and that he could scarcely even per¬ 
ceive a faint flush which tinged his face, it was so slight; 
and he added, that when the priest retired, Alphonsus did 
not say a word to him about what had just happened. 

A layman boldly entered his palace one day, and abused 
him most violently; he bore it all without saying any thing, 
and without in the least losing his serenity. When the 
scene ended, he went to the seminary as if nothing had 
happened. He visited the different classes, manifested 
great cheerfulness, assisted at the repetitions, and made 
the youngest pupils sing a pious song. When he retired 
the superior followed him, and on seeing him so cheerful, 
he begged him to diminish the amount of the pension for 
a young man with whom he was greatly satisfied. The 


400 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


bishop granted him all he asked, with pleasure. When he 
went away, and the superior heard of the insult he had re¬ 
ceived just before this visit, he was stupified, and could 
not sufficiently admire the immovable sweetness of the 
saintly bishop. 

One day he sent the servant to the administrator of the 
annunciator, to ask his kind assistance in behalf of a poor 
woman whom he had converted. The administrator was 
in a bad humor at that time, and sent the bishop, the 
woman, and the servant about their business. The indig¬ 
nant servant repeated the speech to Alphonsus, and as he 
blamed the administrator, he said to him : “ be silent, he 
is a holy man. Who knows what was the matter with 
him ? . Go back again to-morrow, and you will see that he 
will give you a large donation.” And so it was; the 
servant went and received more than thirty carlins. 

The good bishop’s meekness towards those of his house¬ 
hold was no less admirable. When they annoyed him in 
any way, his greatest complaint was to say : “ How foolish 
you are!” or else, “May you become a saint!” Jf the 
matter were of more importance, and he saw no way of 
remedying it, he raised his eyes to heaven and gently said: 
“Thy will be done;” and if he could not control some 
emotion, he used to exclaim: “ Gloria Patri,” &c. A 
canon related that he always exercised extraordinary mild¬ 
ness towards a priest belonging to his palace, who treated 
him as if he were his inferior. Every one was indignant at 
the effrontery and impertinence of this person. Alphonsus 
alone never showed the least emotion at it. 

He one day gently reproved a cleric who was writing 
under his dictation; the cleric, whether through stupidity 
or malice, threw the papers down in a heap on the table, 
and then hastily and angrily retired. When Alphonsus 
thought he had got calm again, he sent for him and said : 
“ Well, why did you do such a thing? Do you know that 
you vexed me? now go on writing again.” 

This calmness in the midst of affronts and insults was 
not natural to him, however, for he had by nature a fiery 


i 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


401 


and irascible temper. It was the happy result of the vio¬ 
lent efforts he made to overcome himself, and to break off 
all human attachment in his heart. From the moment he 
left the world, he set the mildness and humility of Jesus 
Christ before him as a model. Archdeacon Rainone, who 
was once present when a country priest insulted him, said: 
“My lord, that is not the proper way to act; it is de¬ 
grading to your character, and encourages the wicked.” 
“Oh, my dear canon,” answered Alphonsus, “I have la¬ 
bored to gain a little patience for forty years, and you want 
me to lose it in an instant.” On a similar occasion he an¬ 
swered to a like remark of the superior of the seminary, with 
a smile: “I have had no slight struggle to gain a little pa¬ 
tience ; God knows how much it has cost me. It is the fruit 
of continued effort, and shall I go and lose it in an instant ?” 

But this meekness did not prevent him from showing the 
proper firmness, when, not his own person, but the glory 
of God, or the welfare of souls was in any way concerned ; 
he became then even terrible as a lion. F. Caputo, who 
lived in his intimacy, was in the habit of saying, “When 
this old man wants to manifest his authority, he intimidates 
and terrifies one.” A gentleman, who was rich, but dissi¬ 
pated all his possessions in gaming, had a son at the semi¬ 
nary, and on the plea of poverty, he wanted him to be 
kept there for the half pension. Alphonsus wished to 
correct him, so he refused his request. The gentleman then 
raised his voice and tried to obtain it by intimidating him. 
Alphonsus, upon this, said to him: “But do you know 
how unbending I am ? He then struck the table with the 
back of his hand, and added: “ When I tell you that I ought 
not to do the thing for God’s sake, you might as well give 
it up.” Another gentleman of Airola went on obstinately 
in sin; Alphonsus sent for him to the palace and repri¬ 
manded him, and on seeing his indifference he got more 
animated and reproved him more warmly. The gentleman 
was much nettled, and began to abuse him excessively; 
this did not move Alphonsus, who merely said to him more 
than once, while walking up and down : “ Sir, you wish me 
34 * 


402 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


to act as a bishop, and I will make you see that I am one.” 
We could give a thousand instances of this truly apostoli¬ 
cal firmness. But it was not without suffering an interior 
pang that he decided on resorting to firmness or severity. 
“ You cannot imagine,” he wrote to one of his penitents 
at Naples, “how much it costs me to treat certain persons 
with severity ; and I think that one succeeds better by gen¬ 
tleness than by violence.” He was once seen to weep, in 
giving a severe reprimand to a gentleman whose deplorable 
conduct had not yielded to repeated warnings. At this, the 
licentious man could not help being affected himself, not¬ 
withstanding his being so hardened. Often after uttering 
words which he thought a little too strong, he would think 
of some pretext for recalling the person to whom they had 
been addressed, and giving him some token of kindness. 
Thus, having on one occasion spoken authoritatively to a 
doctor, he sent for him on the following day to feel his 
pulse. “ He was very well, however,” said the doctor af¬ 
terwards, “but he made use of this innocent stratagem to 
show me that he felt no ill-will towards me.” 

This meekness and the control which he had gained over 
himself also enabled him to rule over the hearts of others, 
so that often one word from him sufficed to make all parties 
agree, and the most obstinate hearts submit. Of this, let 
us give the following most remarkable instance. One day, 
the cook, who had forced Alphonsus to give him an assist¬ 
ant for the dirty work, had a dispute with this latter, who 
carried it so far as to run after him with a knife. The poor 
servant ran to take refuge in Alphonsus’ room, and held 
the door firmly closed; but the scullion, who seemed de¬ 
termined to kill him, pushed at the door violently from out¬ 
side. Alphonsus ordered it to be immediately opened, 
and with a few words succeeded in completely calming the 
infuriated scullion. The grand-vicar and all the others 
wished the man to be imprisoned and dismissed ; but the 
saintly bishop only sought to reconcile him to the cook, 
and he succeeded so well that these two servants were the 
best possible friends from that time. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


403 


In a word, we may say that Alphonsus’ meekness was 
perfect. “ There is nothing,” said he, “which is more un¬ 
seemly in a bishop than anger. A bishop who gives way 
to this passion, is no longer the father of his flock; he is 
an intractable tyrant, who draws down the hatred of every 
one.” Br. Francis, who lived with our saint for fifty years, 
and a Father who was in intimate intercourse with him for 
forty years, attested, that, whether in his relations with them 
or with strangers, he constantly evinced unutterable sweet¬ 
ness and equanimity, however annoying that intercourse 
might have been; and a priest, a man whose sanctity made 
him venerable, never called him any thing but the Francis 
de Sales of our age. 

As the inseparable companion of meekness is humility, 
so Alphonsus, who was a model of sweetness, rendered 
himself no less admirable by the low opinion he had of 
himself. Being entirely detached from the world, wherein 
he saw nothing but illusion and vanity, he seemed to have 
forgotten what he once had been, and to seek for nothing 
but obscurity and contempt during the whole time of his 
episcopate. He no longer thought of the nobility of his 
origin, nor of the great achievements of his forefathers, 
and if any one attempted to speak to him of them, he im¬ 
mediately stopped them. On one occasion, some one 
talked a great deal about the honors and dignities which 
his cousin, D. Charles Caralini, had enjoyed at Mantua, as 
governor of that town; far from taking pleasure in all this, 
Alphonsus thought it a matter for sorrow, and said : “ How 
much more I should rejoice at hearing him praised for hav¬ 
ing been full of virtue ! How much more cause should I 
have for pride, had his death been that of a saint.” How 
he hated the title of excellency , we have seen above; and 
his persevering way of rejecting it was such, that every one 
in the diocese gave it up, in spite of the habit of using it to 
the bishops who were his predecessors. 

As he delighted in serving others, and never in being 
waited on himself, he was like one of the servants in his 
house: he made his bed himself, dressed his own issue, and 


404 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


never allowed a valet to come near his person for such ser¬ 
vices; and although JBishop of St. Agatha, he seemed 
rather to consider himself the sacristan. “By God’s 
grace,” he one day said, “ I have never felt vain-glorious. 
Once only, when I w T as being incensed on my throne, I 
felt a sort of pleasing sensation. Now see,” he added, 
“ see how the devil tried to tempt me.” When he went 
out of his palace, he never would be accompanied by more 
than one priest, whoever that one might be; and he very 
often went out alone, or only accompanied by the sacristan, 
who was a layman. The canons, on finding out this man¬ 
ner of proceeding, several times complained to the persons 
belonging to the episcopal house that they were not 
warned when he went out by the usual ringing of bells; 
but that was precisely what Alphonsus did not wish for. 
When he went to church for his private devotions, he went 
alone; and thus it several times happened that he came too 
soon, and found the door shut, and waited then patiently 
until the sacristan arrived to open it. When he arrived 
alone in this way, he would not allow a cushion to be put 
on his chair, and when the servant accompanied him, as he 
knew his wishes, he took care to take it away, if it had 
been placed there. The slightest mark of deference was 
distasteful to him ; thus, when he went out in the carriage, 
he would not allow the secretary or any other priest to seat 
themselves in the front part of the carriage; and he never 
consented to take the right side unless it were quite indis¬ 
pensable to do so. Even at Naples he made his grand- 
vicar take it, who, though distressed at such pre-eminence, 
was obliged to yield through obedience, and in order to 
avoid vexing his superior. Far from domineering over the 
clergy, he even manifested submissiveness towards the 
lowest of his servants, to whom he never spoke but in 
these terms: ‘Do me the kindness.’ ... ‘I beg you to 
do such a thing.’ . . . ‘Have patience.’ . . . ‘Please to 
do that,’ &c. No word ever issued from his mouth which 
denoted command or superiority. He was, above all, re¬ 
spectful in his expressions and conduct towards ecclesias- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


405 


tics. “ One day when I was in his room,” said a priest, 
“he did not venture to say to me, ‘give me that pen,’ but 
he rung the bell to summon the lay-brother who had to 
attend to him; he was paralyzed and in bed.” Even 
when he gave an order to a priest relating to his office, he 
did so in the form of a request. He once said to a priest 
who gave the spiritual exercises to the nuns at Arienzo: 
“ D. Paschal, the nuns would like to have you for two days 
more.” “ Your lordship can dispose of me ; you have but 
to command, and I will obey,” was his reply. “Very 
true,” replied Alphonsus, “but a superior ought to be dis¬ 
creet.” He was in the habit of saying that a tone of 
superiority and disdain can only diminish the authority of 
a bishop. If, however, he were resisted in a thing he had 
a right to demand, he then remembered that he was a 
bishop, and changed his love into firmness, but always 
spoke in a polite manner, and never said any thing offen¬ 
sive. When he wrote to the episcopal vicars and to the 
priests, he gave them the title of most illustrious, and he 
was as respectful towards those he cited before his tribunal, 
thus liking to give to others what he would not receive 
himself. When he had to deal with any superior of a 
monastery, he almost put himself in the position of a sub¬ 
ject. Having gone to the Capuchin Fathers on St. An¬ 
thony’s day, while he was at Arienzo, and seeing there 
was a crowd of people in the church, he said to the F. 
Guardian in the most humble tone: “ F. Guardian, if you 
allow it, I should like to say a few words to these people.” 
He treated all kinds of ecclesiastics in office with the same 
deference, in regard to the affairs relating to their church; 
and he addressed the priests, and above all the canons, in 
the same way, when he wanted to officiate at an unusual 
time in any church. 

He would never allow even the simplest cleric to remain 
standing in his presence, and all who went to see him 
were admitted to his table, if they came in the morning. 
Thus no formal invitation was needed beforehand to en¬ 
able persons to be admitted to it; every priest, and even 


406 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


every layman who came to see him, might hope to dine 
with him. He disliked having his hand kissed, and he did 
not even present it to the clergy, unless they manifested a 
w r ish for it, and then he did so unwillingly. He liked to 
converse with the most vulgar peasantry, and 1o inquire 
into their affairs and their wants. 

His profound science caused him to be consulted on the 
most delicate affairs, and recourse was had to him from all 
parts of Italy, and even from beyond the mountains; yet 
he never decided any thing of consequence without him¬ 
self taking advice, and always behaved as if he were inca¬ 
pable of deciding any thing himself. He often took the 
opinion even of persons of but moderate talents, and he 
never hesitated in submitting his judgment to that of 
another, when he thought it more in accordance with the 
truth. He was the first to condemn himself, if he happened 
to make any mistake. He did this with joy, and always 
manifested gratitude for the explanations he had received. 
But if it happened that he was wrongfully condemned, he 
was equally sincere, exposed his reasons with candor, 
and justified himself without blaming others. A common¬ 
place writer,-"of whom Alphonsus had made an honorable 
mention in one of his books, not satisfied with having bit¬ 
terly censured an opinion which he had had grounds for 
defending, wrote a letter to him, as indiscreet as it was 
impertinent, in which he did not scruple to call him an im¬ 
postor. Alphonsus received this piece of impertinence 
with the greatest calmness, and took care not to complain 
of it even to a canon, who, as he knew, was a friend of his 
detractor. 

A foreign merchant, who called himself a convert from 
Protestantism, after having obtained the ordinary letter of 
recommendation to the diocese from the grand-vicar, 
wished to speak with his lordship. When he was in his 
presence he began to talk of the different works which Al¬ 
phonsus had published, and did not scruple boldly to blame 
several of his opinions, which he accused of being unten¬ 
able and scandalous, and went at length so far as to treat 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


407 


him to his face as an ignorant fool. Alphonsus not knowing 
what to think of such impudence, defended his opinions 
with humility, without losing his affability. A canon who 
was present, afterwards said to him: “ I cannot imagine 
how you managed to bear it.” Alphonsus only answered 
by a sweet smile, and then added that very likely he was a 
Jansenist. 

The publisher wishing to give an increased value to Al- 
phonsus’ Moral Theology, begged him in January, 1762, to 
have his portrait taken. Alphonsus answered : “ As to the 
portrait, that would throw discredit on the work; is it 
fitting for an author to have his picture taken while he is 
alive? . . . When I shall be no more, let them do what 
they please with my body ; I care but little : but during my 
life, I wish no notice to be taken of me, and that my name 
may never be quoted anywhere. I have put it in my books, 
it is true; but that was to excite the curiosity of people, 
and to get them to read them, otherwise I should have had 
them printed without my name.” When his secretary, at 
the instigation of the publisher, made use of some solici¬ 
tation on this subject, Alphonsus answered: “Do not 
speak to me more about that, my work would not get more 
credit, but on the contrary, it would be depreciated in value 
if the head of such a mummy were put in it.” If we have 
his portrait, we owe it to his servant Alexis and to his 
secretary, who being pressed by fresh entreaties from the 
publisher, secretly made a hole in the door of the room 
where Alphonsus dined; and thus the painter was able to 
trace his features whilst he took his repast. 

The arms of his house were to be seen only in the 
chapter, they were neither to be found in the church nor in 
his palace; and the seats which he used, bore no other 
impression than a cross, or a calvary. There was a magni¬ 
ficent chasuble in the treasury of the cathedral, left there by 
Mgr. Danza; Alphonsus wanted to have a complete set of 
vestments of the same sort, and he added some of his own 
money to what the church funds could supply, and ordered 
a cope, dalmatics, a humeral veil, and cushions, to match, 


408 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


from Naples. When these things arrived at St. Agatha, 
the canons fancied that the sight of the arms of Mgr. Danza 
would be offensive to Alphonsus; they therefore had them 
immediately taken down, and were just going to send them 
back to have the arms of Liguori affixed instead, when Al¬ 
phonsus heard of it and declared that it mattered little that 
these vestments were adorned by Mgr. Danza’s arms, and 
asked if the ceremonies wherein these would appear, would 
be of less value on that account. He made them replace 
every thing as the embroiderer had put it. His brother 
Hercules made him once a present of a magnificently em¬ 
broidered piece of cloth, which Alphonsus had made into a 
chasuble and dalmatics, but he rejected the proposition 
which the canons made of placing his arms on them ; giving 
as the reason of this refusal, that what he had expended in 
the making of these things was not out of his personal in¬ 
come, but that he had taken it from the episcopal revenues, 
of which he did not consider himself to be the owner. 

While he thus declined all personal privileges, he also 
forbade all his household to take advantage of the position 
they held, in the least degree. The general agent of the 
duke of Maddalon, said on this head : “ In the time of the 
former bishops, no one dared to bring before the courts of 
justice any of those who were attached to the bishop’s 
establishments, such as farmers, &c., but in the time of 
Mgr. Liguori, the horror which he had for all sorts of unjust 
pre-eminence, caused him to abolish these privileges.” 

The following is the last proof we shall give of his pro¬ 
found humility. As founder of the Congregation, and Su¬ 
perior General, he had a perfect right to employ any 
member of it in all his wants as he might please: but it 
was not thus he acted. F. Villani had destined F. D. 
Angelo Majone for St. Agatha; but he did not like such a 
tranquil mode of life, and manifested repugnance to it, so 
he sent him to give a mission at Gaeto, in order to over¬ 
come his aversion, and informed Alphonsus of it. “This 
news has given me great pain,” he answered; “I want an 
able subject who can assist me in a multitude of difficult 


LIFE OP ST. ALPHONSUS. 


409 


cases; for I am surrounded by a thousand difficulties which 
arise on all sides: but God wills it to be thus, and his will 

be done.Try and get him to aid me willingly ; me, 

a poor old man loaded with trials and cares. Tell him that 
he will thereby be sure of doing God’s will, and that he 
will do me a great charity. I like him because he leads an 
edifying and retired life, and does not meddle with any 
thing that does not concern him ; besides, he is a good ad¬ 
viser and a good[ preacher. I say, willingly , for otherwise 
it would be better for him not to come; for he would then 
be more burthensome than useful. 

The virtues of poverty and penance are the inseparable 
companions of humility, or rather its most certain outward 
expressions. We will therefore show how these two virtues 
also shone forth in our saint during the time of his episco¬ 
pate. With the exception of one violet suit, he only made 
use of Mgr. Danza’s old clothes, and they were the only 
ones he wore during the thirteen years he was bishop of 
St. Agatha. Except when he had to officiate, he always 
wore the habit of his Congregation, which became dearer 
to him and more to his taste from its appearing humble and 
poor; but even this cassock had no fellow. One day, a 
gentleman coming to see him, found him clothed in violet, 
and believing that he* must therefore be going out, he said 
to him: “Are you going to officiate ? ” “No,” he replied* 
“ but my cassock is being mended.” Another day, as he- 
was passing a monastery of the Dominican Fathers, dressed 
in an old gown full of patches and in a cassock which 
was out at the elbows, a father showing compassion for 
such great poverty, Alphonsus excused himself for it by 
frankly saying that he had given a commission for four 
articles of clothing to be bought for him in Naples at the 
old clothes-shop, but that they had not yet arrived. 

He had a cassock which was so bad that the lay-brother 
was ashamed of it, and determined to take it away from, 
him during the night, and make a new one of the same 
kind. The next morning while he was assisting him to- 
dress, which he could not then do alone on account of an. 
35 



410 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


issue in his arm, the brother adroitly substituted the new 
habit. Alphonsus did not find it out at first, but on looking 
at the sleeves, he saw that they were new. “ Ah,’ ; he said 
to him, “you have put new sleeves.” “Yes,” answered 
the brother, “the others were too much torn.” But some 
time afterwards he saw that it was not his old cassock at 
all. “I am master,” said he then, raising his voice, “I 
think this cassock is perfectly new.” “ So it is,” replied 
the brother, “the other was no longer Recent for you to 
put on.” “Never mind,” he answered in a tone of 
authority, “go and fetch me the old cassock.” “If you 
will not have this one,” said then the brother, “you must 
do without any, for the other has been given to a poor 
man.” Alphonsus could not help regretting it, and said to 
the brother: “You always will act of your own accord.” 
His underclothes were of coarse stuff; in summer they 
were of common cloth dyed black. A tailor said that on 
receiving a pair of small-clothes to mend, he did not know 
where to put the needle, and that a beggar would not have 
taken them. “Although sick and old,” said a priest, “he 
only used hemp shirts, and a wooden rosary was suspended 
at his neck, similar to those which poor beggars use.” The 
laundress often complained that the shirts were so tattered 
that the pieces remained in her handS, and wished him to 
be persuaded to get four new ones. “ I undertook the 
office,” said F. Telesca, “and seizing on a good oppor¬ 
tunity, which the sight of the rents in the collar of his shirt 
gave me, I told him that he ought to get new ones.” “ Old 
things,” he replied with a smile, “ suit an old bishop; and 
then I ought to think of clothing the poor.” He was seen 
in his visitations, mounted on an ass, and with such tattered 
clothes on that his hair shirt was seen through them. His 
stockings were of coarse wool; when he officiated he wore 
spun silk ones, but he never would make use of real silk 
stockings. The shoes which he had made at his election, 
were the only ones he wore during the thirteen years he 
governed St. Agatha, and he still wore them after his resig¬ 
nation, until his death. The walking-stick, which he used 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


411 


for the sole purpose of supporting himself, was of no value, 
having cost at most, twenty carlins. The little silken twist 
upon it got so shabby that it looked quite discreditable, and 
a priest not being able to bear its unsightliness, substituted 
a simple riband in its stead. When Alphonsus perceived 
it, he said: “What is that riband for?” Being told who 
had put it on, he said: “Yes, it could only have been put 
on by him.” His bedstead was of wood, and of coarse 
workmanship, and he could never be induced to make use 
of an iron one. He had no curtains, and the sheets were 
of coarse linen; his blanket in winter was one of coarse 
wool, like those which the poor use: it was also old and 
worn out, and however severe the cold might be, he never 
allowed another to be bought, nor would he have a coun- 
terpane, but spread his cloak and his cassock on the bed. 
“I have admired Naples,” wrote the grand chanter of the 
Cathedral of Girgenti, who had visited Alphonsus at Ari- 
enzo, “ I have felt admiration for the magnificence of Rome, 
but the life of Mgr. Liguori has made a much greater im¬ 
pression on me ; it has effaced all the beauties of these two 
capitals from my eyes. I have seen a saintly bishop of the 
primitive age; he lies on a bed to which he is confined by 
the most painful infirmities, but his serene countenance 
betokens the tranquillity of his soul. The glory of God, 
and the government of his diocese, occupy him unceas¬ 
ingly: in him have I seen extreme moderation in sleep and 
in food, and such absolute poverty in all things, that the 
only covering he has on his straw bed is his cassock; his 
pastoral ring would not excite the envy of a beggar, a false 
stone is its only ornament; his cross equals it in its sim¬ 
plicity.” 

At St. Agatha, as well as at Arienzo, he always chose 
the smallest room in an obscure recess for himself. He 
had not one valuable chair; those he had were of the sort 
all the poor use. His table was of unpolished wood, its 
value consisting in its antiquity, and he had on it a miser¬ 
able little inkstand of bone. The paper which he used 
for every thing he wrote was very common, and he was so 


412 


LITE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


careful in turning the least piece to advantage, that he used 
the envelopes of letters for his composition, and for writing 
to the members of his Congregation. His snuff box was 
the same that he had used in the Congregation, that is a 
wooden one, worth only a few grains; in a wojd, he used 
nothing which was not very poor and very coarse. The 
bare floor was his Prie-Dieu. The only ornaments which 
adorned his room, besides his books, were a large crucifix, 
(which he had received as a present, and which he had 
always before him,) and a little picture of our Lady of good 
counsel, which was placed on his table. All the other 
rooms in the palace also betokened poverty. Mgr. Danza 
had left handsome furniture, but Aiphonsus did not make 
use of it, and the palace was a mirror of evangelical poverty. 
With the exception of some common beds for those who 
might come to see him, some chairs, and deal tables, all 
the rest evinced distress. There were no valuable paint¬ 
ings, but on all sides devotional pictures of Jesus Christ 
and the Blessed Virgin. In the vestibule of the house at 
Arienzo, he placed a cross, which he kissed every time he 
went in or out of the house. The best piece of furniture 
for any person of distinction, was a bed which was covered 
with some old damask cloth, which had belonged to Mgr. 
Danza; and this was called the bed of state. He had, in 
a word, such an ardent love for holy poverty, that even the 
shadow of gold or silver made him afraid. He often went 
to see, at Arienzo, F. Mascia, the ex-provincial of the 
Capuchins, and each time he went into his room he ten¬ 
derly kissed a beautiful parchment picture representing the 
Ecce homo. F. Mascia on seeing this devotion, offered the 
picture to him, and he accepted it. It was surrounded by 
the cloth of which the Capuchins make use ; he wanted 
to take it off as a superfluous ornament, but it concealed a 
little silver frame. He at once returned it, saying he would 
not deprive F. Mascia of this object of devotion ; but when 
it had left the house, he said to the secretary, “ the picture 
is very beautiful, it is a pity that it has that silver frame.” 


t/IFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


413 


On the pretext of health, he would only use the com¬ 
monest sort of bread, which is made of bran with a very 
small quantity of flour. All the dishes at his table were 
equally common. He ate only veal or mutton, there being 
no other kind of meat to be had at Arienzo. “ What 
scandal would it give,” he said, “ if the people saw one 
fare daintily.” Even when he was ill, he would not allow 
any thing to be sent for to Naples or elsewhere, saying, 
“ I ought to use the produce of my diocese ; ” and among 
the things which were sold in the place, he wished those 
which were the cheapest to be selected. The secretary 
one day bought a rare fish; as soon as Alphonsus saw it, 
he hastened to send it back again, saying, ‘let it not be 
said that the bishop eats the best fish.’ If any sort of deli¬ 
cacy were prepared for him during his illness, he said, 
shaking his head: “I am satisfied with what the others 
have, I do not wish for any thing in particular.” His great 
maxim in this as in other things was: “All that is super¬ 
fluous is taken from the poor.” 

When the Archbishop of Amalfi came, as we have seen 
above, to consecrate the Cathedral of St. Agatha, the cook 
thought that this was an occasion on which he could get 
credit through a grand feast; but when he heard that only 
two dishes were ordered, he crossly replied: “My lord, 
the scullion could prepare the dinner which you have 
ordered.” “What do you want to say?” answered Al¬ 
phonsus, “ we received persons of great consequence at 
Nocera, and we did not treat them differently.” “Your 
lordship was free to do so,” boldly replied the cook, who 
then went out of the room grumbling. “ There now,” 
said Alphonsus, “ what a passion he has put himself in ! 
God knows all the plans he had concerted.” However, the 
secretary had a third dish prepared; Alphonsus seemed as 
if he did not observe it while at dinner, but he gave him a. 
severe reprimand afterwards, and said: “A bishop’s table 
ought not to resemble those of the great, it would be a real 
scandal: poverty does not injure a bishop; on the con¬ 
trary it does him honor.” When Mgr. Albertini, bishop of 
35 * 


414 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


Caserto, came to Arienzo with his suite, Alphonsus ordered 
three more dishes than usual to be prepared; Br. Francis 
remembered the brilliant reception Alphonsus had received 
in passing through Caserto, and applied to a Father of the 
Conerrenation to obtain some more. The father had a 

o e> 

lively discussion with him about it. “ I cannot waste 
money,” replied Alphonsus, “ which belongs to the poor, 
in feasts; I am their father and their steward, but not the 
dilapidator of their possessions. I know not with what 
face one can eat of dishes prepared with the blood of those 
unhappy creatures who have no bread.” The father 
manacred so that he got some more dishes at dessert, three 
good dishes having been sent as a present. When Al¬ 
phonsus saw them he was quite annoyed, and would only 
allow one to be touched. “The good nuns of the Holy 
Redeemer,” he said to the bishop, “ are so poor, we must 
send them something:” then addressing the other guests, 
he added, “ His lordship does not want any more, he pre¬ 
fers conferring a charity on these poor females; ” and he 
despatched the bearer to St. Agatha that same instant. 

H is table linen was so common that it looked quite dis¬ 
creditable, and the dishes were in keeping. His only 
candlesticks were of brass, and the salt cellars of earthen¬ 
ware. On extraordinary occasions, he sent to borrow 
plates and dishes from the Lords of Lucca, until the brother 
attendant and the secretary provided them, unknown to 
him. In conclusion, let us add the following testimony 
given to his apostolical poverty by a gentleman who went 
to visit him at Arienzo, in 1769, and who could not help 
weeping at seeing the great destitution of his host. “ I 
have seen the ideal of poverty in Mgr. Liguori,” he said 
to every body, “ what indigence is there throughout the 
palace! some of the rooms are quite bare, others have 
three straw chairs made of unpolished poplar-wood in them, 
the simplest sort of tables, and a bed equally poor. If the 
saintly bishop required to be moved about, his servant drew 
him up and down in the room by means of a rope attached 
to a shabby wheel-chair.” 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


413 


As for the spirit of penance which animated him, he 
never omitted to discipline himself to blood every day, and 
the walls of his chamber would have borne constant witness 
to these macerations, if Mgr. Rossi, his successor, had not 
had them covered overby several coats of white-wash. It 
was asserted that his drawers were steeped in blood, as if 
they had been plunged in it. The prior of the Dominicans 
at Durazzano once dwelt in the bishop’s house, on account 
of the examinations. The very day they terminated, he 
wished to set out immediately, (although it was late in the 
day,) and being urged to remain, he said: “I would return 
were it midnight, for I have not the heart to hear the flagel¬ 
lations of this poor old man any longer.” 

In order to obtain an increase of grace from God for 
himself and his flock, he used generally, on the vigils of 
feasts, to scourge himself with various cruel instruments, 
and especially with small cords armed with sharp steel 
stars. He also redoubled his macerations at the carnival 
and other profane fetes. Not satisfied with these bloody 
disciplines, he also mortified his flesh by horse-hair shirts 
studded with iron points, or by sharp little crosses with 
which he covered his shoulders, his arms and legs; when he 
sat down or got up again, his motions betrayed his suffer¬ 
ings. All the particulars of these instruments of penance 
would have been unknown, if the curiosity of some people 
had not revealed them to us. “ I saw them all secretly,” 
said a canon, who had lived in filial intimacy with him, “ in 
a strong box, of which his lordship kept the key under his 
bed : I could not help shuddering the first time I opened 
it.” How little he ate, we have seen above. There was a 
time when he lived on abstinence food entirely; and what 
was left of his food was so bad on account of the bitter 
herbs with which he had seasoned it, that not only the 
poor, but even animals, would not touch it. During the 
day also, he used to chew these herbs in order to mortify 
his palate, and he kept such a quantity of them, that one 
quite smelt them on entering his room. 


416 


LIFE OP ST. AtPHOKSUS. 


When he ate any where but at home, he had a thousand 
stratagems for avoiding partaking of what was before him : 
sometimes he Carved, or distributed portions; sometimes 
he appeared to be giving his attention to a little dog; at 
other times, when he thought that it would not be noticed, 
he mingled bitter herbs with the little that he took. Dur¬ 
ing the whole time he was bishop, he never once com¬ 
plained of any dish being badly cooked, although accidents 
of this sort were not rare in his house. One day at dinner, 
he asked for something to drink, and instead of wine, the 
servant gave him a bottle of vinegar, but Alphonsus drank 
it without manifesting the least displeasure. A little while 
afterwards, the grand-vicar also asked to drink, and no 
sooner had he raised the glass to his lips than he began to 
scold the servant; but Alphonsus laughed, and excused 
him. On another occasion, when he was taking his meals 
in bed, the same thing happened again, and although the 
vinegar was very strong, he said nothing about it. Only, 
the next day he said to the servant: “Do not give me the 
same wine I had yesterday, for I took it for vinegar.” 

He liked fresh fruit, and used it as a remedy on account 
of his sedentary life, but, when for this reason D. Hercules 
supplied him with excellent fruit from Naples, Alphonsus 
gave it to the nuns of the Holy Redeemer: he did the 
same when he got rare fish, sweet things, or other delica¬ 
cies, from his brother, or those nuns who were related to 
him. 

In the midst of the sufferings which continually tor¬ 
mented him, he never sought for any other alleviations than 
those which were prescribed for him by the physician. 
One day, when he was oppressed by a very bad sick head¬ 
ache, F. Caputo offered to procure him some of the waters 
of St. Vincent Ferrer, in the hope that the saint would 
cure him, or at least relieve him. “ Shall we go and apply 
to St. Vincent for such a little thing?” answered he. “ If 
we want to address him, let us pray to him for the salva¬ 
tion of our souls, and for a good passage into eternity; as 
to what I suffer, it is nothing.” 


LIFE OP ST. ALPHONSUS. 


417 


Although he was sinking under the weight of years and 
infirmities, he was always careful to mortify his senses. 
He never indulged in any gratification of the eyes, how¬ 
ever innocent it might be. “I am certain,” said F. Ca- 
puto, “ that he scarcely knew that there was such a town 
as Arienzo or St. Agatha in the world.” Another Father, 
who was intimate with him, said : “ Alphonsus was so great 
an enemy to himself, that he had a universal hatred for all 
kinds of recreation.” “ His mortified life,” added another, 
“ filled all who saw it with confusion, and sufficed to change 
their lives.” He slept as frequently on the floor as in bed. 
His bed, besides, was a place of penance rather than of 
rest, the palliasse being so thin that his body rested on the 
bare boards. He never had it shaken during all the years 
which preceded his great infirmity. Let 11s add one other 
testimony of our saint’s penances during his episcopate; 
it is that of his grand-vicar, Rubini: “His lordship was 
as cruel towards himself as he was kind towards others,” 
said he. “ I should make you shudder, were I to relate to 
you all the particulars of his macerations, his abstinences 
from food, his daily scourgings to blood, of the hair shirts 
and iron chains which kept his body in a continual state of 
mortification, his watchings; in short, all which can afflict 
the flesh was made use of unceasingly.” 


CHAPTER XXIX. 

Alphonsus' charity in relieving all kinds of bodily suffer¬ 
ing. His detachment from all self-interest. 

1 ^0 complete the description of the virtues of our saint 
_ during his episcopate, we must add that of his charity 
towards his neighbor in regard to their bodily necessities. 
Full of love for all works of mercy enjoined in the Gospel, 
he said that a bishop is especially bound to perform them. 
The numerous poor of his diocese were therefore the first 
objects of his charity. His heroic charity during the famine 


418 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


of 17 —, and the frequent assistance given to persons in 
danger of sin, we have seen above. On Wednesday and 
Friday of each week, he had a general and public distribu¬ 
tion of alms; but whenever any assistance was needed, 
all days were alike to him, none were exempted, even we 
might say that there was not an hour in the day, in which 
he could not be seen, purse in hand, giving liberally to all. 
The grand-vicar, Rubini, affirmed, that after subtracting 
what was necessary to pay the grand-vicar’s salary, and 
the monthly salary to which the chaplain, the cook and 
the attendant were entitled, and also the expenses for the 
table, all the rest of his income was employed in alms, or 
else to meet the outlays which the suppression of disorders 
entailed. Archdeacon Rainone said that one day he saw 
the hall of the palace filled with poor: some asked for 
salt, others for lard, some for sugar, others for delicacies 
for their sick relatives at home. He was particularly care¬ 
ful in signing bonds, in exchange for which the apothecary 
was bound to furnish remedies; and he gave quinine, and 
other simple medicines with which he was provided to 
those who required them. The same archdeacon one day 
represented to him the excess of his generosity, as he was 
sometimes for whole days without having any thing left to 
give, (giving usually to each person at least from five to six 
grains,) and asked him what would remain for himself 
when he had given all away; reminding him that summer 
is not unending, and that the wants of winter are still 
greater. “Providence is never at a loss,” replied Alphon- 
sus. A light from on high directed his alms. Alexis, the 
servant, related that when he announced any poor person, 
he was in the habit of giving the first time a considerable 
sum of money; if the same person came back again, he 
diminished the alms each time, without personally seeing 
him. But if he were asked for charity for others, he again 
gave the large sum. During the bad weather in winter, 
when the poor could not work, his charity became still 
more striking. He was then in the habit of spending 
among them six, nine, and even ten ducats a day. “ He 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


419 


was so generous in his alms,” said a canon, “ that he not 
only deprived himself of what was necessary for himself 
and for his family, but he did not hesitate even to contract 
heavy debts for the relief of the destitute.” “ Repeatedly,” 
said another canon, “ I went to borrow fifty, a hundred, 
and even two hundred ducats for him. When he could 
find no one to lend him any thing, he had recourse to the 
liberality of the great, especially of the Prince della Riccia. 
The Duchess of Maddalon also sent him several hundred 
ducats at once, which were specially intended for the poor 
of St. Agatha and of Arienzo. Any expense for purposes 
not necessary, he did not know, or rather considered as a 
robbery. We have given his sentiments on this head in 
several instances above; let us add the following. When 
D. Hercules came to visit him, for the first time, with his 
second wife, D. Marianne, the grand-vicar and others told 
the pious bishop that he ought to think of making some 
present to his sister-in-law. He consented; but they were 
much astonished when they saw that this present consisted 
in a garland of flowers, which he had himself received as 
a gift, and when the trifling value of the thing he had se¬ 
lected was objected to, he replied : “ Do you then wish 
that I should take away from the poor, in order to make 
presents to my sister-in-law ?” The lady took pleasure in 
prolonging her stay at St. Agatha, but Alphonsus felt dis¬ 
tress at the expenses which this caused him, and for this 
reason he ingenuously said to his brother: “ It w r ou!d be 
very pleasant to me to keep you longer, but how can I 
meet the expenses it would entail? All my money comes 
from the church, and what one takes from the church, one 
takes from the poor also.” 

There are in the diocese sixty-four very rich chapels, of 
which the bishop has the administration. Alphonsus put 
aside, out of this, enough to meet the expenses of keeping 
them up, and for the services in them ; and all the rest 
went for the relief of the poor, whether to the orphans, or 
to clothe the nakedness of a great number of other indi¬ 
gent persons; nay, he was so lavish in these alms that he 


420 


LIFE 0E ST. ALPHONSUS. 


sometimes obliged the rectors of these chapels to contract 
debts. Although several of these chapels were withdrawn 
from his administration, he did not lose courage, but 
managed so well with regard to the new managers, that 
they still distributed many alms according to his wishes. 
Besides, he was ingenious in turning to advantage every 
occasion, and in creating new resources for his beloved 
poor, as for instance, in appointing to offices, &c. When¬ 
ever he received any one in his own service, as a secretary, 
a chaplain, or a servant, he always gave the preference to 
the poorest, if he were fit for the post. Another instance 
is the following. A prior of a convent recently elected, 
sent him some pounds of excellent fish; Alphonsus 
thought it right to accept the gift, and to manifest his satis¬ 
faction at it, especially as he wanted to show that he felt 
no resentment for an annoyance which he had received 
from the fathers of the convent some days before. In the 
spiritual reading of that day out of the life of the Ven. 
Bartholomew, Br. Francis, who read for him, came to the 
passage where it is said that the archbishops of Prague 
were in the habit of sending a certain fish to ihe king every 
year, on the occasion of a particular solemnity, and that 
the venerable Bartholomew resolved to employ the money 
in the service of the poor, instead. As soon as Alphon¬ 
sus heard this passage, he said to the brother: “ To-morrow 
there will be a fair at Maddalon; take care to sell the fish, 
and give the money in charity.” It was objected that it 
was too trifling a thing, and that the payment of the porter 
would amount to more than the fish was worth ; he an¬ 
swered : “ I know nothing about all that; do as I tell you.” 

Not content with assisting the indigent who presented 
themselves at the palace, Alphonsus took care to antici¬ 
pate the wants of the bashful poor, and always ordered 
their priests to make them known to him. “ I know,” 
said a religious, “ how many entire families he secretly 
supplied with provisions and clothing; to one he allotted 
ten carlins a month, to another thirty, and to a third five or 
six ducats, and even more, according to their station, and 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


421 


the number of individuals to be provided for.” A young 
orphan of rank was destitute of relations, and lived in great 
misery. When he heard of her situation, he sent her a 
considerable sum of money through the medium of her 
parish priest, and then continued to send her a monthly 
allowance. A lady who had several children was in great 
distress, on account of her husband being a professed 
gambler. He supplied her with half a measure of corn 
every month, unknown to her husband ; but he found it out 
and got some body to go for the alms in the name of his 
wife, sold it, and gambled with the proceeds. Alphonsus, 
in embarrassment what to do, sent three measures of corn 
to the wife during the absence of her husband; but on 
hearing that he had again got hold of it, he determined 
secretly to send the poor mother a monthly allowance 
through the hands of the priest. 

Notwithstanding his known dislike to visits, Alphonsus, 
during his sojourn at Airola, went every evening to see an 
indigent nobleman, who was the father of a large family. 
He relieved his poverty, exercising the most refined deli¬ 
cacy in deceiving the very excusable pride of this nobleman. 

One of the king’s officers, also a stranger, was in want, 
on account of having a large family whom he was unable 
to supply with all they required ; he informed Alphonsus 
of his position, and received six ducats a month during the 
whole time that his regiment remained at St. Agatha. 

It was especially in secret alms, that Alphonsus’ charity 
was most remarkable. “ He who is a bishop,” he was in 
the habit of saying, “ought to think a great deal about the 
poor whose tears no one thinks of drying: it is they who 
are chiefly recommended to us by Jesus Christ.” One day 
when he was w-ith Mgr. Bergame, the bishop of Gaeta, 
and Mgr. Tosti, the bishop of Fondi, who were both his 
penitents, he asked them in what way they regulated their 
alms. “As to that,” answered Mgr. Bergame, “I do not 
believe that I am in fault; thanks be to God, I give largely 
to all that ask of me.” “It strikes me,” Alphonsus then 
said, “that you act as a priest and not as a bishop, you do 
36 


422 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


not understand the meaning of these words of the Gospel: 
‘Let not your left hand know what your right hand giveth.’ 
I advise you to think of alms-giving in secret, to widows, 
to families in trouble, and to the poor who conceal them¬ 
selves.” 

If Alphonsus was liberal towards all the poor, he was 
prodigal we might say, when through their poverty they 
were in danger of offending God. We have already re¬ 
lated, above, many facts which abundantly prove this ; let us 
give here some more. A canon relates that one day he 
heard that a poor old woman had six children, of both 
sexes, and of a considerable age, who all shared the same 
bed. Alphonsus was horrified at this, and exclaimed : “ O 
God, send for Br. Francis directly,” and he instantly sent 
the poor woman all that was necessary to remedy this sad 
state of things. The parish priest of Talanico also found 
a number of families who, through poverty, huddled all 
their children in the same bed; he informed Alphonsus of 
it, who hastened to procure beds for them all. He bought 
every year a great quantity of cloth and various kinds of 
merchandise, that he might clothe the naked in proportion 
to their wants. 

Amongst the privileged poor, as Alphonsus called them, 
were, besides the nuns of the new convent of the Holy Re¬ 
deemer, (of his charities towards whom we have spoken 
above,) the Capuchinesses of St. Peter of Alcantara, and 
the poor nuns of the convent of St. Philip Neri. Inde¬ 
pendently of alms in money, he supplied them with a store 
of oil, corn, and wine, each year. 

The money he received in his pastoral visitations, was 
remitted to the episcopal vicars to be distributed among 
poor families, for his charity embraced the poor of the 
whole diocese. If he found a petition from a poor person 
in the number which came to him from all parts of the dio¬ 
cese, he was accustomed to say in a joyous manner: “Ah, 
this pleases me, it is a request for charity.” 

His charity extended even to strangers who were not of 
his diocese. A priest asked him, one day, for an annuity 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


423 


for a person who did not reside in the diocese. “You 
know very well,” he replied, “ that I am bound to assist all 
the poor in my own diocese ; now they are so numerous 
that I cannot find enough for them. However, tell the 
canon, Joachim de Cassare, in my name, to give four carlins 
a month to the person of whom you speak. I am poor 
and cannot give more.” When strangers came to ask for 
his charity and he was unable to satisfy them, he said 
sorrowfully : “ Charity must be regulated ; if I have not 
enough to give my own poor, how can I give to others?” 
The pil grims also did not ask for his assistance in vain. 
The foil owing two most extraordinary instances of charity 
towards strangers are on record. One day, a pilgrim who 
stated that he was of noble birth, and a recent convert, 
asked him for alms. Alphonsus told his secretary to give 
him two carlins; the other refused them, saying that it 
was not enough. Alphonsus heard this in his room, and 
hastened to add something to the sum, but on the pilgrim’s 
requiring still more, he ordered all that he had asked lor to 
be given to him. Another indigent person, not belonging 
to his diocese, often came to ask him for alms; as he was 
sensible of the distress of this man, who appeared to have 
sprung from a good family, he was in the habit of sending 
him from ten to fifteen carlins through Br. Francis. This 
man loudly complained to the brother one day, and told 
him that the alms he got were insufficient. Alphonsus 
happened to come out of his room at this moment, and 
heard these words of discontent. “ My son,” he said to 
him, “ I am overburthened with poor, and I know not what 
more I can sell for their aid; be satisfied with that for the 
present, and God will provide the rest.” However, as the 
stranger went away murmuring, and with a bad grace, he 
took compassion on his distress, sent for him again and 
ordered twenty carlins to be given to him. Another in¬ 
stance of such (we may say) imperious poverty, and of 
submissive charity, is the following, though this person 
was of his own diocese. The inhabitants of the village of 
Cava are almost all attacked with the goitre. A woman of 


424 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


this place came one day to Alphonsus, accompanied by 
her daughter, (who was afflicted with this disease,) for 
whom she told him that she had an offer of marriage, but 
that she did not know how to get a tonino. Alphonsus 
could not make out what sort ot a tiling a tonino was, so 
the secretary asked the woman for an explanation of the 
word, when she replied that it was a collar of small gold 
beads for an ornament of the neck. The secretary burst 
out laughing, and said that all the toninos in the world 
would not be enough to ornament a neck like that. Al- 
phonsus smiled, but touched with compassion, he ordered 
ten carlins to be given to her, and on her insisting on having 
more, he added four carlins besides. 

Such extended liberality could not fail to be abused, and 
he was several times in consequence the dupe of the hypo¬ 
critical poor. Several of their cheating tricks came to the 
•ears of his friends, and they did not fail to warn him of it. 
Alph onsus replied without any astonishment, “that does 
me no harm ; it is better to give an unnecessary alms and 
to be cheated, than to run the risk of being reproved for 
not having given what was necessary.” 

We have seen above how he supplied with medicine, 
eatables, and delicacies, those poor whom he knew to be 
sick; so also he did not fail to send money for their relief. 
We have seen also in another place, that when five o’clock 
struck, his relaxation was to go and console the sick who 
were in the greatest suffering, and he did not forget those 
whose misery made them repulsive. His solicitude was 
redoubled in the case of the dying; he left every thing to 
go and prepare them to make a good end. And there 
was nothing which he more inculcated on the priests, than 
the care of the sick, particularly if they were poor and deso¬ 
late. When his servant Alexis became ill, he went several 
times to console him by his presence. One day he left 
four ducats for his wife, and as she was hopeless, the 
doctors having giving her cause to fear for her husband’s 
life, he said that he would continue her husband’s wa^es 
to her as long as he himself should live. When he heard 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


425 


that there were any incurable in the diocese, he caused them 
to be taken to one of the hospitals at Naples, at his own 
expense, and as he often had not enough wherewith to 
assist them, he applied to the administrators of the chapels, 
and to other persons. 

The following is the testimony of a priest on this matter. 
“ I was filled with admiration at seeing his lordship prac¬ 
tice certain acts of charily, above all, those towards the 
sick. He numbered seventy-seven years, and although 
himself infirm, paralytic, and nearly sinking under the 
weight of old age, he still continued to go about the neigh¬ 
borhood and to visit the sick. To see an old man, all 
wasted away, his head bent down, so weak as to require 
not only the aid of my arm in getting in and out of the 
carriage, but also of that of his attendant; to see, I say, 
such an old man enter into houses to visit the suffering ob¬ 
jects therein, was a sight which filled me with admiration, 
and I could not contemplate it without shedding tears. I 
one day asked him how he could still visit the sick, he who 
daily received the visits of two medical men. * What sort 
of charity should I have/ he replied, ‘if I were notable to 
suffer something for the benefit of my children ? Oh ! how 
much greater are the obligations of a bishop than those of 
any other Christian ! I will even say, of any other ecclesi¬ 
astic ! The shepherd who wishes to watch over his flock 
properly, ought not to forget the sick sheep, but must take 
care of them in proportion to the magnitude of their 
wants/ His arrival amongst the sick was not without 
profit to them: ... he exhorted them to patience, and 
encouraged them to accept their sickness as a penance 
sent them by God ; he disposed them to receive the sacra¬ 
ments, he filled them with love and confidence towards 
the Blessed Virgin, whose picture he always gave to them. 
He inquired into their wants, and did not leave them with¬ 
out giving them an alms.” 

If any were ill and tormented by scruples, or had met 
with a fatal accident, he quitted every thing to go to their 
immediate assistance, and to dispose them to make a good 
36 * 


426 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


confession. This once gave occasion to a singular mistake. 
He saw the viaticum being carried to some place in the 
neighborhood of his palace, at Arienzo, and asked to whom 
it was taken. Some one replied by the one word : ‘ Pec- 
catore/ (sinner.) Upon that he was troubled and alarmed, 
and believing that the sick person was a great sinner, he 
sent to inquire what signs of repentance he had given. A 
canon who then saw the mistake said to him : “ Peccatore 
is the name of the sick person ; but he is a good man.” 
However Alphonsus could not rest until he had crawled to 
the house of the dying man, examined into his state of 
mind, and satisfied himself as to his probity and piety. 

On another occasion he heard that a villager had received 
a mortal wound ; he immediately hurried off to see him and 
induce him to pardon his enemy. He repeated his visits 
daily while the sick man lived, and sent him provisions for 
himself and all his family. To the mother of the man, as 
she cheerfully forgave the murderer, he assigned a pension ; 
but her daughter resisted all persuasions and would not for¬ 
give, though he visited her twice, so that he could but aban¬ 
don her and pronounce the divine malediction against her. 

His solicitude became extreme if the illness of an eccle¬ 
siastic were in question, and especially if it were that of an 
reeelesiastic still in the prime of life, and in a doubtful state 
of mind. When therefore he heard that a priest was in 
danger of death, he multiplied his visits, until he saw that 
he was contented and well disposed. 

God often deigned to manifest, in a miraculous manner, 
what pleasure he had in the visits which Alphonsus paid 
to the bedside of those who were ill. Thus he predicted 
the death of the brother of the Archbishop of Amalfi, whom 
he had gone to comfort by his presence, and also that of a 
lady he went to see; in both cases contrary to the expec¬ 
tations of the medical men, and in the first, even though 
two celebrated doctors, who had been called from Naples, 
had held out confident hopes of a speedy recovery. So 
likewise when Mgr. Albertini was ill at Caserto, Al¬ 
phonsus having gone to see him, and having heard that 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


4*27 


two physicians had pronounced him out of danger, knelt 
down before an image of the Blessed Virgin, and after a 
short prayer arose and said to the doctors, “ It is useless to 
give yourselves more trouble ; his lordship will die.” He 
then entered the sick man’s chamber and said to him : 
“My lord, do not trust to the flattering promises of the 
doctors ; if God were to call you to himself, would you not 
wish to have received the sacraments?” “Undoubtedly I 
should, my dear friend,” answered Mgr. Albertini, who 
immediately asked to receive the viaticum and extreme 
unction. Alphonsus after this said mass for the happy 
death of the prelate. One of his relations, the Duchess of 
Cimitile, did not approve of such sad preparations, and the 
doctors were still more dissatisfied. However, Alphonsus 
returned to Arienzo. He met the Governor of St. Agatha 
next day at the church, and inquired about Mgr. Albertini: 
“ He is better,” answered the governor, “at least so D. N. 
writes me word, and the doctors allowed him to take an 
egg this morning.” After this Alphonsus ascended the 
pulpit, and at the end of the sermon, he said to the people : 
“ Pray for Mgr. of Caserto, who is now in his last agony.” 
He spoke truly, for on the following night Mgr. Albertini 
passed to another life. 

It was just the contrary to this in regard to D. Blase 
Trossi: the doctor had given him over, and the people in 
the house told the bishop of the slate in which he was, for 
Alphonsus knew the sick man well, and had often borrowed 
large sums of money from him. Distressed at such sad 
tidings, he said mass for him that very day. He then took 
a picture of the Blessed Virgin and sent it to him, telling 
him to recommend himself to her, and to be sure that he 
would obtain a cure. The sick man had no sooner re¬ 
ceived the picture and kissed it, than his state began to 
mend sensibly, and the improvement went on so rapidly, 
that he was quite well again in a few days. 

Prisoners were as great objects of commiseration to the 
charitable bishop as the sick. He frequently visited them, 
to encourage them and incite them to patience, and if they 


428 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


were poor, he did not fail to relieve them by his alms. He 
gave six grains to each of them every Saturday. A priest 
stated that even when Alphonsus was at Arienzo, he sent 
the same for all the prisoners at St. Agatha every Saturday. 
But as these latter spent what they received in gambling, 
he ceased to give them money, and the alms were made in 
provisions. When there were any prisoners for debt, Ab 
phonsus interceded for them with their creditors, whose 
claims he often satisfied with his own money. Let us re¬ 
late the two following instances. At the opening of one 
of his pastoral visitations at Arienzo, he told the people 
how much it was his heart’s wish to relieve all poor, and 
that if he could not satisfy all it was not from want of love, 
but through his own poverty. A man, on hearing these 
words, turning to a priest near him, said jestingly : “We 
have at last found our prefect,” in allusion to a confrater¬ 
nity which was called, in derision, of St. Misery. When 
this speech was reported to Alphonsus, he only smiled at 
it. But sometime after he was told that this same man 
was in prison for debt, and that his family were starving; he 
then remembered his joke and said : “ He is our fellow- 
member, we must assist him.” He then paid the debt, 
which amounted to six ducats, and as he owed a great deal 
more in other ways, he allowed him ten carlins monthly. 

A poor man had been in prison for three months for 
having smuggled salt; being ill besides, he had recourse to 
Alphonsus, who wrote to the royal administrator of salt at 
the tower of the Annunziata : “ I entreat you to release 
this man from prison, because he is dying of hunger; he 
has nothing but alms to live on, for he possesses absolutely 
nothing of his own. I hope that my request may lead you 
to have pity on this unfortunate man, and that you will not 
have the cruelty to let him die in prison. My dear N., do 
me this kindness, and I will not fail to recommend you to 
God.” The administrator asked him for a medical certi¬ 
ficate as a security; Alphonsus wrote to him a few days 
after: “I send you the certificate you asked me for, and I 
hope that it will produce the desired effect, and that in 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


429 


reply I shall hear that this poor old man has been set at 
liberty. Believe me, my dear N., you could not do a better 
deed. I try to assist this unhappy man by alms, but I 
cannot remedy his imprisonment; this is why I hope you 
will kindly give me consolation by releasing him, and spare 
me the sorrow of hearing that he has died in this mournful 
prison, and perhaps destitute of spiritual aid.” 

He also interceded for criminals, and implored the cle¬ 
mency of the barons and judges for them. A soldier in a 
country regiment having been found carrying prohibited 
arms, was arrested and put in prison. Alphonsus pitied 
the young prisoner, and also his aged father, and lost no 
time in writing to the Duke of Maddalon’s agent, to beg 
him to intercede for him with the commissioner in his 
name. He wrote also to the (governor of the fortress of 
St. Agatha to the same effect, and obtained what he de¬ 
sired. 

This kind of charity by intercession, he even extended 
to persons out of his diocese. Thus he wrote to the above 
mentioned administrator of salt in favor of the farmer of 
salt at Salerno : “ J assure you, that this farmer is an honest 
man, and if he has not satisfied you, it has not been his 
fault. I therefore earnestly entreat you to leave this man 
in his farm, and to treat him w r ith all the charity with which 
your good heart is filled ; I shall always be grateful to you 
for what you will deign to do in his favor.” 

Compassion often ceases when one has to exercise it at 
his own expense, but that of Alphonsus knew no bounds. 
Alphonsus’ store of apples once visibly diminished. A 
canon had suspicions about a person who frequented the 
palace, and went with Alexis and the commissioner to his 
house, and found there the missing apples and an iron in¬ 
strument by means of which the theft had been committed. 
The magistrate was informed of it, and the thief was put 
in prison. The canon and Alexis carried the news to 
Alphonsus, expecting to receive praises for their zeal. 
But Alphonsus exclaimed: “What! imprison a poor crea¬ 
ture for a few apples ! go to the magistrate directly, and 


430 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


get him to set him at liberty; and as to the apples, I will 
buy them.” “ The apples are your own,” replied Alexis. 
“Well,” answered Alphonsus, “do not trouble yourself 
about that, and make haste and deliver this unfortunate 
man.” Meanwhile, the grand-vicar and several gentle¬ 
men came in, and they all told him that he ought to let an 
example be made of the delinquent. Alphonsus yielded 
through prudence, but he immediately wrote to the magis¬ 
trate to beg him to stop all proceedings, and to send him 
the iron which had been the instrument whereby the of¬ 
fence had been committed. He sent food to the prisoner 
morning and evening, and even gave something to the 
guards and the gaoler to cause them to deal well with the 
poor man ; and as soon as he was set at liberty, he sent 
for him, remonstrated with him, and gave him a large alms. 
As mass was not said for the numerous prisoners who were 
confined at Arienzo, whither the country courts also sent, 
their prisoners, Alphonsus managed to get the Duke of 
Maddalon to allow a chapel to be erected for them. 

Among other instances of his procuring the release of 
prisoners, we will relate only the two following, where one 
of the immunities of the church, that is, the right of asy¬ 
lum, was in question. The constables met with a man at 
Arienzo, who was a dealer in tobacco, and arrested him, to 
examine if it were not the produce of fraud. As this was 
probably the case, the man had made away with it, not 
seeing any other means of escape. The constables were 
irritated at having missed their aim ; they bastinadoed him, 
and wanted to put him in prison. The poor man took 
refuge in a church, from which they tore him away, and 
dragged him to prison. When Alphonsus heard of this, 
he immediately sent for the gaoler, and demanded that the 
prisoner should be set free. He then turned to the grand- 
vicar, and ordered him to write out the statement of all 
that had passed, and he added : “ Our immunities are in 
question ; if I had to sell my mitre, I would do so to ob¬ 
tain justice.” He was not at rest till the prisoner was 
released. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


431 


Five Albanian soldiers deserted at the bridge of the 
Magdalene, and had the rashness to turn their arms against 
the officers who were sent in pursuit of them. Two of 
them were killed in the mountains of Arienzo, and the 
three others took refuge in a little country church. The 
suit was got ready, and application was made to Alphon- 
sus to decide if they might or might not enjoy the privi¬ 
lege of sanctuary. They could not; but as he was in 
horror at the idea of delivering these men into the hands 
of justice, to be put to death, he let the allotted month pass 
without giving any decision, so that the matter might be 
left to the mixed court, from which he expected a more 
favorable decision. However, an officer of justice came 
from Naples for the papers relating to the trial; but on 
seeing that Alphonsus’ decision was not there, he said to 
him : “ My lord, your pity injures the culprits; for now that 
the mixed court must decide their case, they will assuredly 
be condemned to death.” At these words, Alphonsus be¬ 
came much alarmed, and immediately sent for an officer 
quartered with a company at Arienzo, and asked him what 
he could do for these unfortunate men. “Nothing but 
your intercession can save them,” answered the officer. 
Immediately, that is to say, at six o’clock in the evening, 
Alphonsus despatched a courier to General Prince Taci, to 
the Marquisses of Tanucci and of Marco, as well as to D. 
Anthony del Rio, secretary of war, to ask for the pardon 
of these criminals, saying that if he were not assured of 
their safety, his own life would be endangered, for, para¬ 
lytic as he was, he would then go in person and throw 
himself at the feet of the king. Alphonsus obtained 
more than he had asked : the deserters received a full par¬ 
don, and all three, by order of the colonel, accompanied by 
an officer of justice, came to thank their deliverer. On see¬ 
ing them he was filled with joy ; he remonstrated with them 
in a paternal manner and showed that, not satisfied with 
having saved their lives, he also wished to save their souls. 

Let us cite a last instance of Alphonsus’ charity towards 
prisoners and persons accused. A chanter belonging to 


432 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


the cathedral became an accomplice in a homicide, and 
was put in prison, but as the evidence was not sufficient, 
he was set at liberty. As he could not, however, justify 
himself from having taken some part in the murder, he was 
suspended. He was very poor, and when Alphonsus saw 
his misery, he interceded for him with the treasurer, to beg 
that they would grant him the half of what he would have 
gained by his presence in the choir. “What you do for 
this poor creature,” he said, “ I shall feel as if done to 
myself.” Touched by this request, they gave the unhappy 
man the whole of it. Alphonsus, still sorrowing over his 
position, took the opinion of enlightened persons, to know 
if he could not reinstate him. He sent him to Rome, with a 
statement of the case, and at his own expense ; but as the 
matter could not be cleared up, he assisted the chanter and 
his parents by allowing him a pension. He had, more¬ 
over, appointed a canon as an advocate in favor of the 
poor, who was bound to defend them gratuitously in case of 
need, doing thus by others what he could not do by himself. 

Hospitality is numbered by St. Paul among the duties of 
a bishop, and Alphonsus was also remarkable for that vir¬ 
tue ; indeed, his palace was like a hotel, for it was always 
open. If any one of the clergy went to the palace in the 
evening, even if he were the lowest of all, he was sure of 
finding a lodging there. All strange ecclesiastics, and es¬ 
pecially the candidates lor holy orders who had no ac¬ 
quaintances at St. Agatha or at Arienzo, were also invited 
to dinner; if they came from a distant place, he made 
them also pass the night at the palace: and it was the 
same in regard to the agents of the priests, who daily 
came in great numbers to see him. When there was a 
meeting for the election to a living, he used to make the 
examiners dine at his table, as well as the candidates. 
“At dinner,” he once said to a priest, “I am obliged to 
give and take of what I destine for the poor, for it does not 
do to send any of these priests to an inn.” During the first 
period of his residence at St. Agatha, an arch-priest came 
at the dinner hour, accompanied by two ecclesiastics. He 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


433 


was ignorant of Alphonsus’ way of acting, and begged 
him to receive him into the palace. “ By all means,” said 
Alphonsus, and as the two companions were getting up to 
go to the hotel, he caused them to stay, telling them that 
the house of a bishop is at the service of all, and particu¬ 
larly of priests. 

D. Salvador Tramontana, who did noihinnf without con- 
suiting him, very often came to visit him ; lie never arrived 
without bringing either fruit or some cake, but Alphonsus 
perceived his delicacy and said : “ When you come here, 
do not trouble yourself to bring any thing; a bishop is 
bound to be hospitable.” Another time, he wrote to him : 
“ If you will come here for four days, I shall be glad, but 
let it be without thinking of paying me for the little bread 
you may eat; remember that I lodge a great many other 
people.” The grand chanter of the Cathedral of Girgenti, 
when visiting him, noticed that the table was well sup¬ 
plied, and said laughingly to Alphonsus: “How does this 
sumptuousness agree with your poverty?” “ Hospitality,” 
he answered, “is the daughter of charity, and not of pov¬ 
erty.” However, this sumptuousness only consisted in an 
extra dish; and this was all the difference he made for the 
Duchesses of Borino and of Salandro, and other gentlemen 
and ladies who came to consult him, not even excepting 
his brother Hercules on his first visit after his second mar¬ 
riage. The pilgrims who applied to him, were lodged at 
the palace, besides receiving provisions for their journey. 
The members of his own Congregation were always wel¬ 
come, and he treated them just like strangers, giving them 
the same kind of food; but he did not allow them any 
lengthened stay without there being a necessity for it, and 
when the business in question was terminated, he kindly 
dismissed whomsoever it might be. 

We may also say, that in Alphonsus’ time, the episcopal 
palace was turned into a public hospital. When any trav¬ 
eller fell ill, they appealed to the charity of the bishop. A 
hermit, who had come to ask his advice, was taken ill. He 
charitably received him into the palace, often visited him, 
37 


434 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


paid for the doctors and the medicines, and did not let him 
go away till after a month, when he was entirely recovered. 
Mgrs. Borgia and Pallante coming once to speak with him, 
their coachman fell ill, and Alphonsus immediately gave 
him a bed and a room. The illness became serious, the 
last sacraments were administered to him, and Alphonsus 
did not fail to console him frequently by his own presence. 
JThe son of the coachman hastened to visit his father, and 
was received also with the greatest kindness. When the 
father was convalescent, Alphonsus caused light food to be 
procured for him, and treated him with the greatest atten¬ 
tion. The father and the son remained in the palace for 
upwards of a month. 

Although Alphonsus was so careful in fulfilling the duty 
of hospitality, he could not escape censure on this score, 
from those who would have liked to see at his house a 
splendid table where they might have good cheer and 
amusement. “They say,” Alphonsus wrote to a priest 
who had informed him of this, “that I do not practice 
hospitality properly! I know, however, how much it costs 
me; as Arienzo is a town through which a great many 
people pass, my palace is almost always full of strangers, 
for whom I always keep several beds prepared, and the 
guests are sometimes so numerous that I am obliged to 
borrow beds.” 

Alphonsus, who was only economical in order to be 
liberal, was also admirable in his detachment from all self- 
interest. He detested the shadow of that cupidity which 
the apostle anathematises so severely. From the time of 
his arrival at St. Agatha, he regulated all the fees of the 
episcopal court according to the customs at BeneventOj 
which considerably lessened the tax on a great many regis¬ 
trations. As to those relating to the ordinations, he wished 
them to be gratuitous, and when the secretary complained, 
he answered: “I sacrifice what accrued to me; you can 
take what is your due.” See what he wrote to F. Villani 
on this subject: “As to the revenues of my bishopric, 
which are said to amount to four thousand ducats, I should 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


435 


be thankful if I had two thousand two hundred! I have 
retrenched many of the sums which I formerly received, but 
which I felt scrupulous about, and I think with reason. I 
have greatly reduced my income, because I consider it a 
very good kind of alms to abandon the fees on marriages, 
especially when there is poverty or danger in the case.” 
When he resigned the episcopate, a canon examined the 
archives of the church at Arienzo, and said that he did not 
find a single marriage celebrated for nothing by the pre¬ 
ceding bishops, while in Alphonsus’ time there were a 
great many, especially among the poor. He himself wrote 
to one of his friends: “I often remit considerable sums, 
and those who serve me know what horror I feel in vio¬ 
lently exacting the payment of what is due to me.” He 
moreover generously abandoned all that was due to him for 
the patents for livings. The sixty-four rich chapels, of 
which he had the administration, as was said above, were 
each bound to pay him four ducats at the principal solem¬ 
nity; but this sum he generally left in the hands of the 
administrators for the poor. 

As to gifts and presents, which formerly formed a large 
part of the income of the bishopric of St. Agatha, we have 
seen above how particular he was in refusing them, for he 
would not receive any other than the dust from the feet of 
the poor. Let us give some other instances of this. The 
dean of the cathedral, after his appointment to the charge, 
sent a present to the bishop, who refused it. The dean on 
complaining of it, received this answer: “I have only 
done my duty in making you dean, and no recompense 
ought to be expected or received for doing what one ought 
to do.” One day in the spring, he wished to have some of 
the fruits of the Season,-and knowing that a priest had a 
quantity of melons, he sent to buy four from him. The 
priest hastened to send him a dozen. When Alphonsus 
saw them he asked what they would cost, and the porter 
replied that it was a present. He immediately sent them 
back. The priest then came in person, and assured him 
that these melons cost him nothing. It was quite a con- 


436 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


test, in which the priest got the victory, however, as he 
was set upon it. Alphonsus yielded, in order not to pain 
him; but he did it with so much regret that he took care 
in future never to ask for any thing of the sort from this 
priest or any other. On another occasion, a canon made 
him a present of three melons: Alphonsus positively de¬ 
termined that they should either be paid for or sent 
back again. But the canon, in order to get out of the 
difficulty, told him what they cost him, and said that he left 
the money in his hands for the poor. This agreement 
pleased Alphonsus. 

He also showed the greatest disinterestedness, or rather 
liberality, in the farming of the property of the bishopric; 
and whatever conditions the farmers might have entered 
into, it sufficed for them to expose their distress and the 
hardness of the times, to insure their being released from 
•u good part of their rents, especially if they were men who 
feared God. A great number of them obtained great re¬ 
ductions on considerable arrears. One of the farmers 
complained one day of the bad harvest, and “Alphonsus at 
once released him,” said F. Buonopane, “from more than 
■two hundred ducats of what he owed him.” “ In a word,” 
-said the grand-vicar Rubini, “he made so many such dis¬ 
counts, that he never had a farmer who paid the full 
amount of his lease.” 

Alphonsus dismissed a woman from a house belonging 
to his see, whom he had been led to suspect of bad char¬ 
acter through a false report. The poor woman began a no¬ 
vena to St. Joseph, and went to Arienzo. When she was 
ushered into his presence, he asked her to what saint she 
was most devoted. “To St. Joseph,” she answered. “Ah 
well,” said he, for he had been previously undeceived, 
“ St. Joseph has been gracious to you, and has told me not 
to turn you out.” The woman encouraged by this good 
beginning, said that the rent was very high. Alphonsus 
touched by her poverty, asked her how much she wished to 
pay him. Her rent amounted to twenty-seven ducats; she 
offered one and twenty. Alphonsus agreed to this, and 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


437 


she continued to pay the same sum during the whole time 
he was bishop, though afterwards she had to pay thirty-one 
instead of twenty-one. 

A steward was found to have a deficit of about four 
hundred ducats; Alphonsus, on seeing him shed tears and 
confess his negligence, was satisfied with discharging him, 
and sent him away in peace. Several persons said that he 
ought to bring him to justice. “ What do you say about 
courts of justice ?” said he with emotion, “this man has 
satisfied justice by confessing his fault. What a thing it 
would be to see a bishop bring an unfortunate man to 
justice, to ruin him outright, for the sake of his own 
interest! ” 

When he nominated D. Virgil Cimino as his secretary, 
the grand-vicar thought that as he was of the diocese he 
might give him only four ducats a month, instead of the 
ordinary sum of six. “Why be parsimonious?” replied 
Alphonsus. “D. Virgil is poor, why deprive him of any 
thing? let him receive what has been given before.” 

To give a final proof, which is very striking and touching, 
let us add the testimony of F. Raphael de Nuvo, the trea¬ 
surer of St. Peter of Alcantara. “I am an old man of 
ninety,” he said, “and yet I never saw a prelate so chari¬ 
table and disinterested as Mgr. Liguori. His purse was 
always open to give, and only closed against receiving. 
Every thing was gratis for others, but he doubly paid what 
he himself owed.” 

But though his disinterestedness was so great, it did not 
go so far as to injure his successors, for he knew how to 
distinguish between his own individual interests and those 
of the episcopal revenue. Nay, his vigilance on this point 
was extreme. On the first Christmas after his arrival at 
St. Agatha, every priest or rector, even those of the monas¬ 
teries, presented him with four capons; believing that this 
was a spontaneous present, he did not wish to receive it. 
But when Archbishop Rainone had brought the deeds and 
shown that this gift was not optional but a part of the 
revenues of the diocese, he not only received them, but 

37 * 


438 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


even exacted them for the future, and in order to make a 
capital out of them, he applied to a poulterer each time, in 
order to know the price, and said to those around him 
jestingly: “This is a dish for the poor; it is not one for 
us, who are people of no consequence.” 

The archpriests, priests, rectors and superiors of monas¬ 
teries, renewed their protestation of obedience on the As¬ 
sumption, and according to old custom, they brought the 
bishop a present as a testimony of their submission. Al- 
phonsus’ predecessors had substituted a large sum of 
money instead of the present, without caring about receiv¬ 
ing the accustomed homage ; when Alphonsus heard of 
this, he required that they should renew their promise of 
obedience, and that in place of the prescribed sum, each 
one should again make him a little present. 

The steward of the episcopal revenue demanded that an 
archpriest should give to the bishop the fifteen measures of 
corn due according to the terms of the ancient quit-rent; 
the archpriest replied that he was not bound to do so, since 
the payment of tithes had been forbidden. “I am sur¬ 
prised,” answered Alphonsus, “that your reverence can 
thus forget your obligations after having taken an oath to 
defend the rights of the church. ... If mild measures are 
not enough to make you pay what you owe, we will have 
recourse to the tribunals, because I am determined to re¬ 
ceive the tribute which is due to me, at any price.” Learn¬ 
ing from the priest, in answer to this, that the squire at 
Arienzo had forbidden his paying the accustomed tithes, 
he hastened to write to all his priests to tell them to repair 
to Naples, and to state their rights before the royal council; 
adding that if the squire or others prevented justice being 
rendered, he would in that event himself undertake to de¬ 
fend the common law. In spite of his representations, the 
archpriest would not have recourse to Naples to defend his 
rights, nor would he pay the rental in question to the 
revenue. Alphonsus then felt obliged to denounce him to 
the Metropolitan of Benevento, but the cause remained 
umdecided, as Alphonsus gave in his resignation mean- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


439 


while. However, in order not to neglect the interests of 
the revenue, when Mgr. Rossi went to St. Agatha, he in¬ 
formed him of the reasons which proved his claims. The 
episcopal income had been lessened by the contribution of 
wood furnished to the troops quartered at St. Agatha. As 
Alphonsus was not able to obtain any compensation for 
this, he appealed to the royal court. He alleged strong 
reasons in his favor, and the ministers, who were moved by 
their respect for his person, rejected the claims of the 
parish. “That which is taken from Mgr. Liguori,” they 
said, “is taken from the poor.” 

These measures were very painful to Alphonsus, and he 
only determined to resort to them through necessity; 
for he was opposed to law suits, and tried, whenever any 
difficulty arose, to bring things to a happy end by gentle 
means, saying that a bad accommodation is better than a 
good law suit. Before proceeding against the arch-priest, 
he wrote to ask him to come and have an interview with 
him, and as he did not even deign to answer him, Alphon¬ 
sus again wrote to him, and humbly said : “ If I had a car¬ 
riage I would have sent it for you long ago; come, I 
entreat you.” It was only when he found that these ad¬ 
vances were useless, that he at length resolved to have 
recourse to the law. A dispute arose between Alphonsus 
and the Duke of Maddalon, on the subject of the right of 
pasturage over a fief which belonged to the episcopal reve¬ 
nue, and as these rights had been refused for two years, 
he defended himself with apostolical courage. “I am 
obliged,” he wrote to the Duke’s agent, “ to defend the 
property of the see, which possesses the double right of 
pasturage and lordship ; I beg you to tell the officers of the 
Duke not to act with violence, because I will only yield to 
evident reasons for so doing, for I am bound in conscience 
to defend the revenue. If I am pushed to extremities, I 
will apply directly to the regency, by whom I hope to be 
heard. And in another letter, he said : “ If I could recon¬ 
cile it to my conscience, I would yield and say no more 
about this affair. God knows what a horror I have for 


440 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


law suits; the very name makes me tremble; but how can 
I yield, after having taken an oath to defend the rights of 
my church ?” He wrote also to the Count of Cerreto, the 
young Duke’s governor, and the affair ended to the advan¬ 
tage of Alphonsus, thanks to his firmness and prudence. 
The Count had a great veneration for the saintly bishop, 
who, not to be outdone in civility, placed the case in the 
hands of one of the Duke’s advocates. The Count was 
satisfied with such a generous proceeding, and wrote to tell 
the agent to observe the ancient custom, and to pay up the 
arrears. It was a beautiful sight to see interest and disin¬ 
terestedness thus struggling together in our saint, or rather 
to see his justice contending with his charity. 

A poor gentleman, who was burthened with a numerous 
family, owed the revenue about twelve ducats for quit-rent. 
As he was summoned by the steward, he implored the in¬ 
tercession of a pious widow, who told Alphonsus of the 
state in which the gentleman was. He forgave him the 
debt at once, but reflecting on the difficulties in which he 
was placed, he added: “ What shall be done for this 
man?” and assigned him a measure of corn every month. 
Nevertheless, in order to prevent the right as to the rent 
from being injured, he caused the steward to oblige the 
debtor to appear every year, in order to pay it, and then 
to give him the money under the title of an alms. He 
thus preserved all the rights of the revenue uninjured, 
and was in the habit of satisfying the claims of charity at 
his own private expense alone. 

From the moment he came to St. Agatha, and saw that 
the see possessed a good deal of property, he took all pos¬ 
sible care to prevent its being depreciated in value. Where 
olive trees were wanting, he caused them to be replanted ; 
he every year had the dead trees replaced, and when any 
of the ground was uncultivated, he had its value increased 
by plantations. As one wing of the palace was in a bad 
state, he immediately ordered the suitable repairs, which 
cost him more than six hundred ducats. A house belong- 
ing to the episcopal revenue being also out of repair, the 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


441 


enant was unwilling to do any thing to it, but he insisted 
on it. “ I feel scrupulous about it,” he wrote to a canon, 
“and I wish to do all that is necessary in order to repair 
this house thoroughly, rather than diminish the ground- 
rent.” He not only took care that the value of all this 
property did not become lessened ; he even sought to make 
it still more valuable. As he knew that silk was much 
sought after, and that a great quantity of mulberry trees 
were needed for its production, he wished to have a number 
of plants of those trees, and even inquired as to whether 
white mulberry trees were more profitable than black ones. 


CHAPTER XXX. 

Jllphonsus resigns the Episcopate. He leaves his Diocese , and 
returns to JVocera. His manner of life in his retirement. 

I J AVING thus seen in detail how Alphonsus shone 
JL forth in all the duties and virtues of the episcopal 
state, let us now follow him into his retreat. The successor 
of Clement XIV r was not even elected, ere he again 
thought of resigning his bishopric; being then an octoge¬ 
narian and paralytic, the burthen of the episcopate seemed 
no longer endurable to him. He was not, however, free 
from his accustomed fears, and as he felt doubts as to the 
validity of his reasons, he again opened his heart to F Vil- 
lani, to ask his advice and the assistance of his prayers. 
He also consulted various zealous bishops, and in particu¬ 
lar, Mgr. Borgia, and Mgr. Lusco, bishop of Lucero, and 
they all thought that he need have no scruples in resigning 
his office. But he took no resolution until he had received 
the decision of his director, F. Villani, who, though he 
had not approved of this resignation at first, yet on account 
of the state to which Alphonsus was reduced, now ad¬ 
vised it, and told him that he ought to resign without any 
scruples, and that he was even bound to do so as lie 
would abridge his life were he to continue to support the 


442 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


painful burthen. F. Villani, however, doubted whether 
the Pope would accept the resignation. “There is no 
reason to doubt about it,” he answered to one of the 
Fathers of the Congregation, “he will accept it, for I am 
certain that I ought to die in the Congregation, and you 
will see that I shall die in it as ajsubject;” and he twice 
repeated that he must die as a subject. He prophesied, 
but the mystery was not then understood. 

On the 15th of February, 1775, Cardinal Braschi was 
elected Pope under the title of Pius VI. After the coro¬ 
nation of the new pontiff, Alphonsus’ anxiety to be set 
free from the weight of the episcopate increased. How¬ 
ever, during the proceedings which ensued upon this, he 
still felt his accustomed scruples. “ God only knows how 
I am tormented,” he wrote to F. Villani, on the 9th of 
March. “ The fear of abandoning my church in order to 
escape the cross, disturbs me anew. I should have been 
very glad if your reverence had spoken to Mgr. Borgia 
again*; I fear that the apprehension of having acted through 
self-love will torment me during the whole of the short 
time I may have to live.” The following is the petition he 
presented to the Pope. We give it entire, as it describes 
perfectly the state of health he was then in, and also gives 
a short account of the diocese : 

“Most Holy Father, I wish to represent to your Holi¬ 
ness that I, the Bishop of St. Agatha de Goti, in the king¬ 
dom of Naples, have attained the advanced age of seventy- 
nine years. By the aid of God, I have continued to bear the 
burden of the episcopate for thirteen years; but I am in¬ 
capable of bearing it any longer. I have many infirmities 
which foretell a speedy death : I suffer from an affection 
of the chest, which has several times reduced me to great 
extremities; the palpitations of my heart have also several 
times brought me to the brink of the grave ; besides this, I 
have at present such a great weakness of head that I feel 
often quite stupified. 

“ Besides all these maladies, I am also subject to divers 
dangerous attacks, for which I have to make use of bleed- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


443 


ing, blistering, and other remedies. I have received the 
holy viaticum four times, and extreme unction twice, dur¬ 
ing the time that I have been bishop. 

“ I must add to what I have just staled, that I have other 
infirmities which prevent my fulfiling my duties as a bishop. 
My hearing is much impaired, and my subjects suffer much 
from it; for when they wish to speak to me of private mat¬ 
ters, I cannot hear them unless they raise their voices. 
The paralysis has made such progress, that I cannot now 
write a single line; I can scarcely sign my name, and I do 
it so badly that it is very difficult to read it. I have become 
such a cripple, that I cannot walk a step, and I require the 
aid of two people in making the least movement. I pass 
my time on my bed, or I sit helpless in my chair. I can¬ 
not go through ordinations now, nor can I preach, and 
what is still worse, I cannot now visit my diocese, which 
necessarily suffers thereby. All this being the case, I 
think I am bound to beseech your Holiness to accept my 
resignation of my bishopric, which I formally tender in 
this petition, because I see that the state in which I am 
causes me to fail in the duties of my office, and in the 
right government of my flock. I confidently hope that 
your Holiness will take pity on me, in consideration of the 
miserable state to which I am reduced; and that you will 
console me by accepting my resignation, in order that my 
flock may be relieved, for they obtain little assistance from 
so incapable a shepherd, and also that I may be freed from 
the scruples which torment me when I reflect on my un¬ 
fitness for government. 

“ I wish to lay the state of my church before you : The 
diocese contains about thirty thousand souls; the income 
amounts to about twenty-six thousand ducats annually, ac¬ 
cording to a calculation made during the last four years. 
The cathedral has thirty-one canons, with five prebendaries. 
In the territory of Arienzo, there is a college which num¬ 
bers twenty-four canonries. There are three convents of 
cloistered nuns, namely, those of St. Agatha, those in the 
town of Airola, and in the territory of Arienzo, and also 


444 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


two asylums where there is also a church in which the 
sacred functions are celebrated. 

“ I very confidently look forward to receiving the consent 
of your Holiness, as well as your blessing, so that I may 
have nothing else to think of than to prepare myself for 
death, which will shortly befall me.” 

He sent this letter to Cardinal Crescensi, who loved him 
and favored him very much, begging him to consent to pre¬ 
sent it to the Pope, and to support it by his mediation. 
He wrote also to the same effect to Mgr. Calcagnini, the 
Pope’s chamberlain, and to Cardinal Castelli. No sooner 
was it discovered at Arienzo that Alphonsus had sent in 
his resignation to the Pope, than the news spread through¬ 
out all the diocese, and caused general affliction. People 
consoled themselves, however, by the thought that the pre¬ 
sent Pope would not accept it any more than his prede¬ 
cessor had done. The superiors of the religious orders 
wept for the loss of a protector who was both powerful and 
zealous; the nuns, for that of a father and a comforter; 
the clergy felt as if in him they lost the soul of the eccle¬ 
siastical state, and the seculars, a tender and vigilant pastor : 
and so they all addressed the most ardent supplications to 
heaven for the preservation of their saintly bishop. 

In the meantime Alphonsus was not idle, but redoubled 
his exertions and labors for the welfare of the diocese, en¬ 
couraging the priests to labor for the salvation of souls, and 
to edify them by their own examples. The students of the 
seminary were always especially in his thoughts, for said 
he, “ I do not wish to leave my successor overburthened 
with old debts;” he was therefore, to the last., as kind in 
rewarding the zealous as he was vigilant in chastising the 
tepid and expelling the incorrigible. Before he left his 
vineyard, he was also careful to have it entirely visited 
throughout by faithful laborers, having applied, from the 
preceding September, to the various Congregations, in or¬ 
der to have a sufficient number of missioners to preach 
throughout all the diocese; he had even written to Pome 
to the general of the Dominicans, in order to obtain a good 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


445 


number of his religious from La Sanita in Naples. Thus 
he succeeded in not leaving an estate, a village, or a ham¬ 
let throughout the diocese, which had not been cultivated 
by zealous missionaries, having joined, for this purpose, to 
those of his own Congregation the missionaries he had 
himself formed at Airola, Arienzo and Durazzano. He 
himself, from his bed or arm-chair, arranged the smallest 
details of this great work, even to the providing for the ac¬ 
commodation of the missionaries and all they required. 
From the following fact, we might almost fancy he was pre¬ 
sent every where to watch over every thing. On the 12th of 
April, 1775, he caused his secretary to write to one of the 
missionaries : “ You must be careful in watching N. the lay- 
brother. You know the convent where he lives, and you 
must see whether he continues to visit the house of N. to 
the scandal of the neighborhood. He wishes you to in¬ 
form him about this as soon as possible, and to come here 
to him this morning to speak to him by word of mouth 
touching this monk.” 

In order that the passion of Jesus Christ should be well 
impressed on all hearts, he caused a picture of it, as large 
as life, to be painted in the most moving manner, and 
to be carried in procession through the church on the 
last evening of the exercises of each mission. In order 
also to excite the faithful to compassionate the dolors of 
the Blessed Virgin, he caused the statue of our Lady of 
Dolors to be exposed and carried processionally in the 
same way. Besides, he pointed out in a circular, all that 
must be done in order to succeed in inspiring the people 
with compunction through the picture of Jesus crucified, 
as well as by the image of our Lady of Sorrows, prescrib¬ 
ing at the same time the malediction of habitual sinners in 
all places where corruption or any special vice existed, 
such, for instance, as blasphemy or licentiousness, and 
pointing out what was to be observed in order to awaken 
obstinate sinners. 

The Holy Father, knowing too w’ell how to appreciate 
Alphonsus’ zeal and the great good which he was con- 
38 


446 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


tinually effecting in his diocese, was not in the least disposed 
to accept his resignation. But two fathers of the Congre¬ 
gation happening, after giving the mission in the Abbruz- 
zes, to pass through Rome, and going to pay their homage 
to the Holy Father, he asked them about Mgr. Liguori. 
They answered: “Most Holy Father, he is in a state 
which quite makes one grieve for him: he is deaf, blind, 
and laden with so many infirmities, that he has no longer 
even the appearance of a man.” The Pope then turning 
to Mgr. Calcagnini, said : “ Do you hear what these fathers 
say? If this be the case, we must not distress him.” 
Upon this he determined to accept his resignation, though 
he did so with much regret, and ordered this to be signi¬ 
fied to Alphonsus, on the 9th of May, 1775. 

This news filled Alphonsus with joy, but in the diocese 
the lamentations became universal. Archdeacon Rainone, 
on receiving the letter of Alphonsus which announced it 
to the chapter, said : “ It is a chastisement from God, we 
have not known how to appreciate him.” As soon as the 
news spread, there was not a single canon or priest who 
did not go to Arienzo to see him at his palace, and who 
did not complain of the step he had taken, with tearful 
eyes; and even those who had experienced his severity 
were now undeceived, and did justice to his merits, feel¬ 
ing only regret at hearing the tidings of his departure. 
But the poor were the most afilicted of all. Penitent 
women, poor girls, and a great number of indigent fami¬ 
lies who had relied on his assistance, were inconsolable at 
losing him. These, as well as the infirm, said, weeping, 
“ We shall not have Mgr. Liguori any more, who used to 
send us comfort or to come and console us himself. Who 
will now intercede for us with our creditors, and who will 
plead our cause with the magistrates? His lordship could 
do every thing, for he was a saint, and every one honored 
him as such.” We cannot forbear quoting here the words 
of a poor villager, as they show how far Alphonsus’ charity 
went: “When we used to go to the mountain,” he said, 
“ we left our children at his lordship’s palace, and we felt 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


447 


sure they would be fed; but now that he is going away, to 
whom shall we have recourse ?” 

The resignation was formally accepted by the consistory, 
on the 17th of July; on hearing this news, some one said 
to him jestingly, that since his resignation had been ac¬ 
cepted he appeared to hold his head straighter than before. 
“Yes,” replied Alphonsus, “because the weight of Mount 
Taburno, (a very high mountain which overtops St. Aga¬ 
tha,) has been taken off my shoulders.” After he had 
thanked the Pope for the great favor he had deigned to 
confer on him, he asked him to allow him to preserve all 
the privileges annexed to the episcopate, especially in re¬ 
gard to the portable altar. The Pope granted this request 
in the fullest sense, and added another favor which Al¬ 
phonsus had not asked for. “Our Holy Father,” Car¬ 
dinal Giraud wrote to him, “ thinks of reserving to you a 
suitable pension secured on your church, and he wishes to 
settle as to its amount with yourself.” Alphonsus replied 
that if the Pope deigned to grant him a pension, four hun¬ 
dred ducats would be enough for him. This moderation 
was extremely edifying to the Holy Father, who, in con¬ 
sideration of his circumstances, graciously assigned him 
eight hundred ducats, and also released a debt of one hun- 
dred and five ducats he owed to the apostolical chamber. 
He caused him also to be freed from all expenses for the 
composition and despatch of the letters, saying : “ One can¬ 
not do enough for Mgr. Liguori.” The college of Doctors at 
Naples decreed also to give him the whole of his pension, 
just as he had been receiving it up to that time, though he 
was not entitled to it unless on the condition of residing 
in Naples. 

Mgr. Rossi, bishop of Ischia, was elected as the succes¬ 
sor of Alphonsus. Before this election was decided on by 
the Pope, divers reports were spread about concerning the 
person who would succeed to the vacant see, the candi¬ 
dates being very numerous. Alphonsus himself inquired 
as to which of the conjectures on this subject had any 
foundation; several names were mentioned to him, but he 


448 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS, 


heard them with indifference, until a canon one day said : 
“ Mgr. Rossi, the bishop of Ischia, is talked of as the one 
who will be elected.” “ Mgr. Rossi!” replied Alphonsus 
with earnestness. (i My God ! My God ! I will at once 
write to Rome to be allowed to reside here until the arrival 
of the new bishop.” He then became more animated, and 
exclaimed: “ My poor church, how long wilt thou have to 
remain a widow, and without a pastor?” He hastened to 
write to Rome, in hopes that the Pope would allow him to 
continue to rule over his church until the arrival of his 
successor, but, according to a new rule of discipline, a 
bishop who had resigned was obliged to leave his diocese 
immediately. Alphonsus had prophesied truly, however, 
for the clergy of Ischia, contrary to all expectation, opposed 
the translation of their bishop to the church of St. Agatha, 
which remained a widow for nearly five years. 

As soon as Mgr. Rossi was duly elected by the Pope, 
Alphonsus, wishing to be useful to his church up to the 
last moment, wrote to him on the 17th of June, as follows: 
u When your lordship shall have taken possession of this 
•church, I trust you will do me the favor to come to No- 
cera for two days, when I will give you full particulars of 
all that can interest you regarding the bishopric, and of all 
that I have learned during thirteen years of labor. Two 
days will suffice to inform you of all. I hope that your 
lordship, by means of what I will tell you and your own 
experience, will be able to carry on the government in an 
excellent manner and for God’s glory.” Mgr. Rossi went 
afterwards to Nocera, and Alphonsus informed him of the 
state of the diocese with tearful eyes. 

When Alphonsus was on the point of separating from 
his dear church of St. Agatha, he wished to visit his chil¬ 
dren once more in person, although he was so infirm and 
broken down. In making this visitation of the parishes, 
he for the last time inculcated on them all, perseverance in 
well-doing, the avoidance of sin, the frequentation of the 
sacraments, and above all, the love of Jesus Christ, and 
devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary; asking at the same 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


449 


time pardon for his numerous failings, as he called them, 
and the scandal he might have given, and recommending 
himself to their prayers, particularly when they should hear 
of his death. He was every where answered by sobs and 
floods of tears. How much impression these his last 
words of exhortation must have made, we may conclude 
from the following instance. He determined to make a 
last appeal to a hardened sinner, a surgeon, whom he had 
imprisoned at Nevano. “ Now that I am going away to 
leave my church,” he said to him, “ do you also leave off 
sin.” The emotion with which he pronounced these 
words penetrated the heart of the unhappy man, who be¬ 
fore long became converted, and being attacked by a sick¬ 
ness which made him think seriously, he made a public 
confession of his sins, and died in sentiments of the most 
sincere repentance, rendering a thousand thanks to Mgr. 
Liguori. 

He visited also all religious communities, of both sexes, 
reminding them of his paternal lessons and exhorting them 
to a zealous observance of their rules and a fervent striving 
after perfection. As he was unable, on account of the 
fatigue, to go to St. Agatha, in order to make his farewell 
in person, he wrote a letter to the chapter, the reading of 
which caused many tears to be shed. As Sister Mary 
Raphael, the foundress of the Nuns of the Holy Redeemer, 
could not see him at St. Agatha, she wrote to him a most 
affectionate letter. Among other things, she said that she 
hoped he would not forget his daughters in Jesus Christ, 
and would bequeath his heart to them by will. “ Bequeath 
my heart!” Alphonsus said, when he came to these words, 
“ I have always considered Mother Raphael as a sensible 
woman, but I have now lost my good opinion of her. My 
heart indeed ! what dish do they want to make of it? It 
is the soul that has value; as for my body, if they wish to 
please me, they will throw it away.” The present he sent 
to them was, besides a letter of advice and counsel for 
Mother Raphael, a simple wooden cross with the emblems 
of the passion, which he had kept in his room, and which 
38* 


450 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


he was in the habit of kissing whenever he entered or 
went out of it. To the Nuns of the Annunziato, who had 
asked for a little keepsake, he sent the little picture of our 
Lady of good counsel, which he had had always on his 
table—begging them to say a Salve Regina for him every 
Saturday, and to recite the litanies for him for three days 
after his death. To the canons, who also asked him for a 
remembrance, he gave the large cross with the emblems of 
the passion, which had been on the first landing place of 
the stair-case, and which he had also been in the habit of 
kissing whenever he w r ent in or out of the house. To the 
Capuchin Fathers he left some artificial flowers which had 
adorned the altar of the Blessed Sacrament in his chapel. 
To the Seminarists who had come to Arienzo, he gave 
some books which belonged to him, as well as all his own 
works. The furniture and valuable goods he left in the 
palace as belonging to the chapter of St. Agatha, were 
some few miserable beds and some cooking utensils. The 
mattress and arm chair he asked to be allowed to take with 
him as an alms from the two canons who were deputies 
from the chapter of St. Agatha, who readily granted what 
he wished for, but shed tears at the affecting scene of such 
humility and poverty. The other things of which he had 
made use were carried off as relics. Some asked ; others 
took what they wanted secretly, and as each wished to 
have something, every thing disappeared, even the little 
images he had at the head of his bed. A little wooden 
crucifix was even violently carried off by a gentleman of 
Arienzo, and as the barber of the house did not see any 
thing else to take, he asked Alphonsus for a crutch of 
which he had made use when he had the rheumatism. 
•“ Take it,” he said, “ for it may be serviceable to you some 
day.” In fact, his son’s wife being some years afterwards 
in labor for three days, he remembered the crutch and 
these words, and taking it, said to her: “This crutch be¬ 
longed to our late bishop, who worked so many miracles; 
if you have faith, and will only take it, you will be cured.” 
She had scarcely touched it, w r hen she was delivered and 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


451 


out of danger, though all had despaired of her safety. As 
to his beloved poor, as soon as his departure had been cer¬ 
tain, he had considerably increased his alms to them, and 
on the day he left Arienzo, the palace was, as it were, be¬ 
sieged by them, and they all had the gratification of sharing 
in his last donations. 

At last, on the 27th.of July 1775, after having ruled 
over the church of St. Agatha for thirteen years and fifteen 
days, early in the morning, he gave his last blessing in his 
dear church of St. Agatha to an immense concourse of 
people ; he distributed large alms to a crowd of poor per¬ 
sons who solicited his charity, and amidst the groans of 
these, as well as the tears of the clergy and the people, he 
got into his carriage, aided by his household, and accom¬ 
panied by F. Villani. The sight of the affliction of the 
people was like a two-edged sword that pierced his heart, 
and tears began to flow from his eyes. When he saw that 
the priests, canons and gentlemen intended to follow him, 
he thanked them and assured them of his gratitude for this 
mark of their affection, but would not permit them to do 
so. However, four of the canons were determined to ac¬ 
company him, as well as F. Caputo and a great number 
of gentlemen. When they had gone on for some miles, 
Alphonsus was anxious they should return, and assured 
them that their presence only increased instead of relieving 
his distress, but the treasurer and some others would not 
yield to his entreaties, and accompanied him to Nocera. 

On the way he addressed his usual prayers to his saintly 
patron, and particularly commended the whole diocese to 
the protection of Jesus Christ and his Blessed Mother; 
and continued the journey while reciting the rosary and 
canonical hours with F. Villani. He had not said mass in 
the morning on account of the emotion which his depar¬ 
ture caused him to feel; he therefore went to the Semi¬ 
nary at Nola, and celebrated it in presence of the whole 
seminary, although he was in a state of great suffering and 
weakness. Every one shed tears of tenderness at seeing 
the devotion with which he celebrated the august sacrifice, 


452 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


without omitting the most minute rubric, notwithstanding 
his age and sufferings. When the mass was ended, he heard 
that of F. Villani, making his thanksgiving, after which, at 
the request of the superior, he addressed an exhortation to 
all the pupils and gave them his blessing. When his 
arrival had become known at Nola, several gentlemen came 
to pay him their respects; among these was D. Michael 
Menichino, whose sight had been so much weakened for 
upwards of a year through inflammation, that he was no 
longer able to walk without being led. Various remedies 
had been fruitlessly tried at Naples and at Nola; and the 
complaint had got so much worse that he had become at 
length completely blind. He arrived just when Alphonsus 
was going to get in his carriage; he threw himself at his 
feet, and shedding tears, entreated him to make the sign of 
the cross on his eyes. Alphonsus had no sooner done so, 
than the blind man recovered his sight. 

As soon as he had entered the carriage again, Alphonsus 
recommenced the recitation of the rosary with F. Villani, 
and the rest of the time was employed in saying the office 
and other prayers. When he arrived at Nocera, Mgr. San- 
felice ordered that all the bells should ring out to welcome 
him. Great rejoicing, though mingled with compassion at 
the state he was in, was felt by the inhabitants, and tears 
of emotion were in all eyes. All the clergy and a great 
number of gentlemen, hastened to kiss his hand and to re¬ 
ceive his blessing. When he was on the steps, he ex¬ 
claimed with transport: “Gloria Patri, &c. The cross 
which I wear at my breast was very heavy when I ascended 
the stair-case at Arienzo, but how light has it become to¬ 
day ! Gloria Patri/ 5 &c. When he reached the choir, he 
cast himself on his face before the Blessed Sacrament, and 
was heard to say : “ My God ! I thank Thee for having re¬ 
leased me from so heavy a burden. My Jesus! I could 
endure it no longer.” The fathers in the meanwhile sang 
the Te Deum, to thank God for having restored their com¬ 
mon father to them. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


453 


A comfortable room, till then used for strangers, had 
• • ® 
been prepared for him; when he was conducted there, he 

observed a piece of tapestry with-a kind of black border, 
which formed the ceiling, and exclaimed: “ What, must I 
live in the midst of ornaments? I will have my old room.” 
He was told F. Villani occupied it, but he would not yield 
till it was represented to him that he ought to have a room 
for visitors, when he consented to take two little rooms on 
the third floor. When he saw that he was lodged as the 
poor are, he joyfully said to the gentlemen who surrounded 
him : “ 0 how much better satisfied I am in this cell than 
in the palace at Arienzo,” and taking his little cross in his 
hand, repeated several times: “This cross has become 
very light here ; but there I sank under its weight.” The 
grand-vicar of Nocera came to see him the same evening, 
to pay his respects to him as the deputy of Mgr. Sanfelice. 
In the course of the conversation, the grand-vicar observing 
that he thought that the diocese was very much displeased 
at his departure, Alphonsus asked, “why?” “Because it 
has lost a pastor who did much good,” answered the 
grand-vicar. Alphonsus was disturbed at these words. 
“Jesus and Mary!” he exclaimed, “what does the grand- 
vicar say of me, who have done no good at all, none, none, 
none ! If any good has been done, it was God, God alone 
who has done all.” Mgr. Sanfelice came to visit him him¬ 
self next day, and conferred full powers on him to exercise 
all authority in the diocese. He received also the visits of 
the bishops and grand-vicars in the neighborhood, as well 
as those of all the superiors of the monasteries, and of the 
nobles and persons of rank of the neighboring places in 
the diocese, which prevented him from resting for several 
days. 

If Alphonsus’ mode of life at Arienzo was admirable and 
laborious, it was no less so at Nocera. He was only re¬ 
lieved from the burden of the episcopate in order to bear 
that of the Congregation, as now all had recourse to their 
common father and left him no rest. “ I had hoped to 
find relief at Nocera,” he wrote to F. Majone, on the 26th 


454 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


of January 1776, “but I have met with a thousand thorns, 
which deprive me of all rest. God be praised ! My head 
is exhausted, and I am forced to have a wet cloth con¬ 
stantly beside me, to prevent giddiness or fainting through 
the number of letters I have to write. ... I feel scrupu¬ 
lous in neglecting to write the inspirations which God gives 
me, for God gives knowledge to superiors which he does 
not grant to others, and it is this thought which makes me 
write so-many letters.” He never omitted to drag himself 
to the chapel every Saturday, to assist at the chapter, and 
to animate his sons to greater perfection. “ Why are we 
in the Congregation,” he one day said, “ if it is not in or¬ 
der to become saints ? The end which God had in view in 
delivering us from the world, is our sanctification ; if this 
had not been his intention, he would have left us in the 
midst of its dangers.” 

In consequence of the vow he had made of preaching 
on the glories of the Blessed Virgin every Saturday, he did 
not fail to have himself conducted to the church by the lay- 
brother and his servant on the Saturday after his arrival, 
though they had the greatest difficulty in placing him in 
the pulpit. As soon as he appeared before the people, 
who had hastened in crowds to hear him, they all uttered 
a cry of compassion, and wept at seeing the saintly bishop 
broken down by infirmities, but rejoiced also in seeing ful¬ 
filled the prophecy he had made of coming to die amongst 
them. He preached as if he had been quite well, and 
afterwards did the same on all Saturdays. 

A constant concourse of persons of distinction, of 
priests, and of monks, hastened to be directed by his 
counsels; and all the bishops who went to Naples or re¬ 
turned from thence, made it a point to consult him on 
their own necessities, and on those of their dioceses. A 
congregation of zealous priests, established at Nocera, de¬ 
voting themselves to the apostolical ministry by giving mis¬ 
sions and the exercises of Lent, preaching, and daily hear¬ 
ing confessions in their own church, wished often to have 
him in their midst to obtain a constantly increasing fervor 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 455 

through his exhortations—and the nuns also wished to 
hear his instructions; lie did not fail to visit both places 
from time to time, to comply with their wishes and exer¬ 
cise his zeal. He visited also the asylum, called the Car- 
minella. When he first arrived at Nocera, he effected in 
this asylum what several confessors had attempted in vain. 
Two of the inmates, though consecrated to God, were 
living there in a state of scandalous enmity; but one of 
them, upon merely seeing him, humbled herself, and ran 
and cast herself at the feet of her enemy, and they both 
asked each other’s forgiveness for their offences. On an¬ 
other day, the mother prioress asked him to remember her 
in his prayers in order that he might obtain for her the cure 
of a cancer which she had in her left breast, and which 
the doctors looked upon as incurable. He encouraged 
her to bear the malady patiently, by placing herself in the 
hands of God and embracing the cross. When he returned 
to the house, he sent her a bottle of pure water, telling her 
to bathe the diseased part with it; after she had done so, 
the tumor disappeared, and she was perfectly cured. 

One of his rooms served him as an oratory ; on the altar 
there was to be seen a lanje crucifix, and at the foot of it a 
beautiful figure of the Blessed Virgin, placed between two 
others of the divine Shepherd and the Blessed Virgin with 
the Holy Ghost on her breast. From morning till night, 
except the time he went, according to the express com¬ 
mand of the doctors and F. Villani, to take a short airing 
in the carriage, he was to be seen before these objects of 
his devotion, engaged in his exercises of piety, or occu¬ 
pied in reading and in the composition of his works. 
This room was also adorned by German figures represent¬ 
ing the different mysteries of the passion on a grand scale, 
so that wherever he turned his eyes, they met with objects 
which served to gratify his devotion. Other ornaments it 
had none: three or four straw chairs and a little table 
formed its whole furniture, with the roughly made arm¬ 
chair which he had received as an alms at St. Agatha. It 
was covered with some old damask silk which the grand- 


456 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


vicar and others obliged him to keep while at Arienzo; 
but at Nocera this stuff, although torn, was a great pain to 
him, and as it inflicted a wound on his love of poverty, he 
several times declared to F. Villani that he could not en¬ 
dure it, and so at last he had it taken off the chair, which 
he had covered with leather. His bed-room was orna¬ 
mented with the same kind of pious pictures, with some 
others of St. Michael, St. Margaret of Cortona, and the 
seraphic St. Bonaventure; and these were its sole orna¬ 
ments. The poor were his privileged friends at Nocera 
also. After he had paid the wages of his servant and his 
coachman, and for what the keeping of his horses and his 
own miserable nourishment cost, he gave all the rest to the 
poor. 

He went through all the exercises of the community, 
and had himself brought, or rather dragged from the third 
floor to the church, before the Blessed Sacrament, for 
making his visit there, which lasted often for hours; the 
way of the cross he performed daily, not in his chair as at 
Arienzo, but by going to the different stations in a long 
corridor. 

He put the finishing stroke to his book on Divine Provi¬ 
dence, that is to say, on the Economy of the Redemption 
of Man, the year of his arrival at Nocera. He added to 
this work two treatises, the first, on the love of God, and 
the methods of acquiring it, the second containing vari¬ 
ous counsels fitted to encourage a soul in desolation. At 
this time he took up also the pen against an enemy of the 
devotion to the Blessed Virgin : “I am determined,” he 
says himself, “to write these few pages from seeing that 
Abbe Rolli (a Calabrian priest) wishes to throw discredit 
on the devout prayers and titles commonly given to the 
Blessed Virgin by the faithful in the litanies and in the 
Salve Regina—as well as from hearing him call the scapular 
and the rosary childish devotions, whereas they are most 
religious practices, and have been dear to me from my 
earliest infancy.” 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


457 


Alphonsus was full of gratitude to the Holy Father Pius 
VI, and embraced an opportunity of testifying it to him 
by dedicating to him his work on Divine Providence, which 
he sent him together with his last writings. Pius VI ac¬ 
cepted this little present, and testified his satisfaction to 
him by a brief of the 19th of November. Alphonsus, over¬ 
whelmed by so much kindness, hastened to offer his most 
humble thanks to the Holy Father, and recommended his 
Congregation to him, and Pius VI, who was sensible of 
his gratitude, replied to him in a new brief dated the 16th 
of December 1776, saying that his thanks were super¬ 
fluous both as regarded the augmentation of his pension 
and the dues which were remitted to him, as he had over¬ 
paid for all by the present of his works. “ They are,” he 
said, “ a fresh and convincing proof to us of your inde¬ 
fatigable zeal in feeding the flock of Jesus Christ as far as 
lies in your power; so that, although you have resigned the 
episcopate, you have not, however, renounced the solici¬ 
tude and the duties of a bishop. As to the protection of 
the apostolic see which you implore for the Congregation 
of the Holy Redeemer, you cannot ask us for any thing 
which is more just, and I will never refuse it to you, whose 
piety we delight in acknowledging—nor to your Congre¬ 
gation.” 

There is also another work of Alphonsus’, composed 
after his return to Nocera. It is a treatise on the sacrifice 
of Jesus Christ on the cross and on the altar, and a short 
explanation of the prayers used at mass. As there was no¬ 
lack of individuals who wished to act like free-thinkers^ 
and who therefore designated eternal truths, such as the 
resurrection, judgment, hell and such like, as mere fables, 
Alphonsus again attacked them in 1776, in a book entitled 
* Dogmatical Dissertations,’ in which he sets forth each of 
these dogmas in all its parts on the authority of the Scrip¬ 
ture, of the holy fathers, and of theologians; he also there 
treats of private judgment, purgatory and antichrist, and 
speaks of the signs and the circumstances of the end of 
39 


458 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


the world, of the state of the damned, of the blessed, and 
of infants who have died without baptism. 

He had to endure again some opposition from the ec¬ 
clesiastical examiner at Naples, on account of this work; 
viz: first, in regard to an assertion that there is no dif¬ 
ference between the love of the blessed in heaven and that 
of the souls on earth, though it is the common opinion 
of theologians; and secondly, in regard to infants who 
died without baptism, on which subject the examiner 
wanted him to prefer the doctrine of St. Augustine to that 
of St. Thomas. After having written three times to the 
examiner, he appealed to the archbishop, and thus his 
opinion in favor of St. Thomas prevailed and the dispute 
was terminated. He was very ill when he published this 
work, for he wrote to F. Cajone, at the commencement of 
1777: “I cannot now either read or write; I am troubled 
with a constant headache, and I have been obliged to give 
up all kinds of study.” 


CHAPTER XXXI. 


The Congregation is bitterly persecuted at Naples. Jlfphon- 
sus labors in its defence . His anxieties in regard to the 
houses in the Pontifical States. 

* 'HESE were the pious and useful occupations of the 



X saintly bishop in his retreat at Nocera. But he had all 
the time, moreover, to drink the cup of bitterness which 
God had prepared for him in the continual persecutions to 
which his beloved Congregation was exposed. We have 
seen above, on several occasions, how fierce, how intrigu¬ 
ing and obstinate were its adversaries, and that three not 
over well-intentioned individuals had been commissioned 
to take information with regard to it and make their re¬ 
ports. The Marquis of Tanucci, on the 3d of October 
1775, moved by incessant calumnious petitions, published 
three ordinances, enjoining it upon those three commis- 



LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


459 


sioners, after a compilation of all the proceedings and ac¬ 
cusations in the council of St. Clare, that of Soinmaria, 
and in the royal council, and after having examined every 
thing, to make their opinions known to his majesty, and to 
transmit all the documents to the chief ministerial council. 
The suppression of the Jesuits, which had happened not 
long before, confirmed the forebodings of the speedy sup¬ 
pression of the Congregation; and, besides, very serious 
difficulties had arisen between the courts of Naples and 
Rome. The enemies of the missionaries already began to 
glory in their triumph and in the destruction of the Con¬ 
gregation. 

In these critical circumstances, Alphonsus despaired 
of the aid of men, and therefore, as usual, turned to~God 
with redoubled fervor. He recommended himself again to 
the prayers of several monasteries, and wrote a circular to 
all the houses, on the 4th of November, in which, among 
other advice and exhortations, he says: “My very dear 
brethren, redouble your fervor in prayer, for our enemies 
redouble their fury against us. . . . Do not cease to pray, 
for if you neglect prayer our ruin is certain. If we pray 
and act as we ought towards God, he will preserve us; if 
not, we shall assuredly be destroyed. . . . What pains me 
most is not the seeing one of you ill, or even leaving the 
Congregation ; I wish him well—but to see one commit 
faults, especially against obedience and poverty, that rends 
my very heart. I bless you all, one by one. Pray about 
the persecution which we endure, and which is more in¬ 
tense now than ever; but I trust in Jesus Christ and the 
Blessed Virgin, who will not abandon us.” 

Thus Alphonsus was affected by hope and fear, but hope 
preponderated. “I am quite contented,” he wrote to the 
fathers at Naples, “because I feel sure that our Lady will 
protect us during this storm.” In order to comfort the 
subjects of the Congregation who were cast down by the 
constant fear of being turned out of their houses, and the 
many vexations they were daily exposed to, he used to 
say: “ Persecutions are to the work of God, what a storm 


460 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 

is (o trees in winter; far from hurting them, it helps them 
to put forth deeper roots, and renders them more fruitful. 
There is nothing but the worm which can injure plants. 
The worms which we ought to avoid are faults and volun¬ 
tary failures. . . . Let us kiss the walls of our cells, and in 
proportion to the amount of our persecutions, let us keep 
all the more closely united to Jesus Christ.” 

In the meantime, the procurator advocate, one of the 
commissioners mentioned above, had allowed himself to 
be persuaded by the adversaries ; they also succeeded in 
acting on the mind of the prime minister by means of in¬ 
trigue, and this was cause for new shouts of triumph. 
<l The casuistical tribe is extirpated,” they exclaimed. “We 
can see now,” said others, “ what this Liguori is, and what 
kind of people he has for disciples.” The advocates and 
the other magistrates on the missionaries’ side themselves 
looked upon their cause as a desperate one when they 
saw it in the hands of the three persons of whom we have 
spoken. The fathers therefore were anxious to see Al- 
phonsus in Naples. But he answered, on the 26th of 
January 1776, to F. Majone, who had solicited him to 
come : “ Your reverence has again written to tell me that 
it would be a good plan were I to come and speak to the 
Marquis of Tanucci; but you well know that I am no 
longer fit for any thing. Last night I suffered from my 
asthma, and had such palpitations of the heart that I 
thought I should have died. Yes, certainly, my father, I 
am ready to give my life to prevent the destruction of this 
work of God, but it would require an extreme necessity to 
justify my placing it in evident peril, and that would be the 
case now.” 

The adversaries on the other hand, on seeing Alphon- 
sus’ impaired health, predicted his speedy death, and every 
where said that if the Congregation were not forced to 
come to an end by the weight of their accusations, it would 
at least become extinct with the life of Mm*. Lio-uori. 

o O 

“They say,” he wrote to the houses of Scifelli and Frosi- 
none, “ that when I die all will be ended ; I say, for my 


LIFE OP ST. ALPHONSUS. 


461 


part, that this Congregation, which is not my work but 
that of God, will endure after my death, as it has done for 
forty-four years.” To other fathers he said : “ Fear nothing, 
I shall not die yet, God wills that I shall die a subject, and 
not a chief superior of the Congregation.” We have seen 
that he had already predicted this in the year 1774, and the 
event will show but too well that he had indeed prophesied. 

While things went on thus, some people proposed to 
Alphonsus to render the houses independent, like those of 
the Fathers of the Oratory; others, that he should open 
seminaries for the education of youth, and that they should 
also preach Latin sermons. But he rejected all these pro¬ 
positions with horror, putting his confidence in God, who 
would most certainly bless his Congregation if it adhered 
faithfully to its special vocation, in which it had till then 
done so much good for the benefit of souls. 

The affairs of the Congregation had become still more 

© © 

involved by the two following circumstances. Its enemies 
by attacking anew the doctrine of Alphonsus, accusing 
him and his missionaries of laxity, error and malice, and 
representing his doctrine as opposed to the Gospel and de¬ 
structive both to church and state, succeeded, (being favored 
by one of the chief functionaries in the royal ministry,) in 
making an impression on the mind of the Marquis of Ta- 
nucci; who therefore declared that the cause should not 
be discussed in the royal council, but that it should be 
rigorously examined in the junta of abuses. This decision 
was a new signal of triumph to the adversaries, and Al¬ 
phonsus himself appeared to be disconcerted at it, and 
considered it as an insurmountable barrier. The other cir¬ 
cumstance was that they carried their calumnies so far as 
to accuse the missionaries of having carried money from 
the kingdom into the Papal states, in order to elude the re¬ 
strictions imposed according to the tenor of the approba¬ 
tion given to the houses in the kingdom. This accusation 
was also of great weight with the Marquis, who was 
already prejudiced by the former calumnies, and it was no 
sooner made than commissioners were sent with urgent 
39* 


462 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


despatches, to go through the houses of the states and 
make inquiries about the purchases of property which, ac¬ 
cording to the adversaries, (who had gone so far in their ef¬ 
forts against the Congregation as to corrupt inferior agents 
by means of money,) had been made there. Alphonsus 
considered this last circumstance as the principal grievance, 
and the only one which could hurt the Congregation. “ It 
seems to me,” he wrote to F. Majone on the 26th of Janu¬ 
ary, “ that we must justify ourselves before Tanucci regard¬ 
ing the acquisition as soon as possible, and that we must 
labor unceasingly for this. Whilst he is persuaded that we 
have acquired possessions contrary to the decree of his 
Catholic majesty, we shall only sail against the wind, for he 
will always look on us as transgressors, and in that case 
what good can we hope for? It is, I believe, through this 
false impression that so many despatches have been issued 
against us.” “ The president himself,” he says in another 
letter, “ believes us guilty, as he told the Cardinal Jerrale, 
and the cardinal did not know what to reply. His emi¬ 
nence wishes to support us, and to speak to Tanucci, but 
he must be informed of all the answers to the general as 
well as to the particular accusations. I am ready to write 
to Mgr. Guttilieri (the queen’s confessor,) but first it will 
be necessary for the cardinal to have spoken to the queen.” 
By this we see that Alphonsus did not neglect human 
means, though he put all his trust in God as we have seen 
by the many prayers he offered himself, and by his asking 
those of the Congregation and of others. 

As an answer to these multiplied prayers, may be con¬ 
sidered an unexpected return of good fortune for Alphon¬ 
sus, viz: that on the 16th of October 1776, the king al¬ 
lowed the Marquis of Tanucci to retire, and the Marquis 
of Sarnbuca was made prime minister in his stead, who had 
the most favorable opinion of Alphonsus, and was as favor¬ 
ably inclined to the Congregation as Tanucci was to its 
enemies. This gave Alphonsus and the Fathers courage, 
without, however, lessening that of their adversaries. 

The report of the Procurator Leon was at length pre- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


463 


sented to the throne, on the 13th of February 1777. As 
nothing equalled the animosity of the procurator, the sword 
of opposition had become doubly formidable in his hands; 
he had styled the missionaries rising Jesuits , and had sworn 
to have the Congregation suppressed and the missionaries 
ruined. This report, a master-piece worthy of the age in 
which the Society of Jesus was suppressed, was as a thun¬ 
derbolt which cast terror into the hearts of all the mem¬ 
bers of the Congregation as well as of their friends. Al- 
phonsus immediately had recourse to his anchor of daily 
safety; he recommended himself to the prayers of many 
devout souls, especially of various convents of religious, 
both at Naples and in the provinces, and ordered that be¬ 
sides prayers and masses in all the houses of the Congre¬ 
gation, the discipline in common should be continued 
every Monday, and that Saturday should be kept as a fast 
in honor of the Blessed Virgin. He inculcated on the 
rectors that they must especially watch closely over the 
observance of that same rule which the adversaries chose 
to aim at. He several times sent alms to the Capuchin- 
esses at Naples, as well as wax candles to the Camaldolese 
Fathers, that they might have prayers for his intention and 
exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. 

When the bishops heard of this state of things, those 
who had the greatest interest hastened to present petitions 
to the king, attesting the probity of the missionaries, the 
poverty in which they lived, their disinterestedness, their 
submission to orders from those in authority, and the good 
they effected in the provinces and their respective dioceses.* 

*An authentic record shows that from the end of 1777 until the 
month of May, 1778, thirty-five missions were given with benefit and 
satisfaction to the bishops. The holy exercises were given to eight 
clergymen, seven seminaries, and nineteen convents, in the dioceses of 
Caserto, Avuso, Capua, Benevento, Cerreta, Avellino, Nari, Aurenza 
and Matera, besides a great many triduos during the Carnival, the 
devotion of the forty hours, and the time of Advent. Alphonsus said: 
“Redeemed souls ought to be the advocates of our cause,” and he 
therefore caused his sons to redouble their efforts and zeal to win souls 
to Jesus Christ. 


464 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


Alphonsus also addressed letters of supplication to the 
new prime minister, and at last, through the intervention 
of Cardinal Branciforte, the Bishop of Girgenti, who was 
then at Naples, and Mgr. Filomarino, the Bishop of 
Caserlo, obtained, that the cause, after it had been exam¬ 
ined by the minister, should be sent back to the royal 
council. This consoled Alphonsus much, and he gained 
new strength at seeing this dispensation of Providence. 
“I can do nothing,” he wrote to D. Francis de Paul, “but 
thank Jesus and Mary for all the many blessings they have 
conferred on me during these last days of my life. . . We 
have good news from Naples of the action with Sarnelli, 
for it has been remanded to the royal council. . . These 
matters have now an altered appearance. Blessed for ever 
be Jesus and Mary.” 

As one of the chief points of the opposition referred to 
his Moral Theology, he therefore wrote a long pamphlet, 
in which, appearing both as a theologian and a canonist, 
he justified it fully; he resumed also his former spirit of a 
lawyer, and without abandoning that of Jesus Christ, he 
digested an ample defence in reply to all the accusa¬ 
tions. Every one was affected by this petition of the ven¬ 
erable old man, the talent of which was no less admirable 
than its moderation. He also addressed letters to the 
ministers of the royal council, to the Prince of Riccia, to 
the President Cito and the Marquis of Marco. Being 
again asked by the Fathers to go to Naples in person, he 
replied, on the 2d of September: “he who could see to 
what a miserable state I am now reduced, would not, I 
think, have the courage to require me to repair to Naples. 
My arrival would only serve to attract the hootings of a 
crowd of children, who would be curious to know if the 
man in the carriage were dead or alive. It is a thing 
which cannot be thought of, because I cannot do it; and 
besides, my presence would not make the cause succeed. 
. . . The weakness of my head prevents my being able to 
express my thoughts clearly, and I cannot now pronounce 
my words promptly. ... Let us place ourselves in God’s 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 465 

hands; he will know better than we how to defend this 
cause, which is more his than ours.” 

Although matters appeared now under a favorable aspect, 
Alphonsus did not wish the cause to be immediately dis¬ 
cussed in the council; his adversaries, on the contrary, 
aware that delay would certainly be disadvantageous to 
them, were eager in demanding this discussion. They 
had made all their preparations; there were no less than 
seven advocates appointed to assist them in the council. 
They visited all the officers of the ministry, and the procu¬ 
rator himself, who was jealous of his honor, went round 
about every where making comments on his famous report. 
The cause was, however, deferred until the month of Au¬ 
gust 1779, when the Marquis of Marco wrote to Alphon¬ 
sus as follows : “ I stated to the king the representations 
of your lordship against the allegations tending to the de¬ 
struction of the Congregation which you direct. His ma¬ 
jesty has commanded me to reply, that as the Catholic 
king, his august father, permitted the missionaries of whom 
your lordship is the head to give missions and to live in 
the four houses of Ciorani, Nocera, Caposele and Iliceto, 
and prescribed the means and conditions under which this 
great undertaking might be maintained, his majesty also 
consents to there being a superior in the four above named 
houses, to watch over the internal order therein, and to 
see that the other offices are properly distributed ; and as 
it was the intention of the deceased Catholic king that this 
salutary work should never cease to exist, his majesty also 
approves of young men being received and taught those 
things which shall be needful to enable them to supply the 
place of those who have become incapacitated through 
great age or any other reason.” 

Alphonsus rejoiced at this act of clemency on the part 
of the sovereign, thanked God for it, and exhorted his 
brethren to do the same by offering up prayers and masses. 
The procurator advocate, on the contrary, was enraged, 
with his whole party, and felt it most keenly. “If the 
Grand Duke of Tuscany had come here in person,” he said 


466 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


several times, “he would not ha,ve obtained from the court 
what this handful of upstarts have £ 01 .” Thus God, who 
never forsakes his children, protected Alphonsus and his 
Congregation from the wicked designs of its enemies, even 
whilst the debate and the particulars regarding the offences 
alleged against the Congregation were before the royal 
council. 

It was evidently the same kind Providence which, after 
all the calumnies spread concerning the doctrine and the 
practice of Alphonsus and his sons, had already some time 
before inspired the king to adopt a new course, which had, 
not less than this decision, filled their enemies with con¬ 
fusion and the procurator with dejection. The king had 
obtained leave to celebrate the jubilee in his kingdom, 
from Pope Pius VI, on the 21st of November 1777. His 
majesty principally selected Mgr. Liguori and his mission¬ 
aries to announce the attendant spiritual graces. In con¬ 
sequence, on the 22d of October of the following year, 
the Marquis of Tambuca wrote to him as follows: “In 
consideration of the constant labors of the missionaries of 
the most Holy Redeemer, which tend to instruct the peo¬ 
ple and to their being led to true piety, and of the solici¬ 
tude with which they disseminate good principles which 
are calculated to form virtuous Christians and faithful citi¬ 
zens, his majesty has determined to make use of your Con¬ 
gregation to publish a jubilee, the only object of which is 
the salvation of the faithful, and the good of the state. 
Therefore the king has commanded me to let your lordship 
know, that in return for the happy success which will at¬ 
tend the labors of your missionaries in this respect, he will 
not fail to give you proofs of his royal gratitude.” Alphon¬ 
sus seconded the piety of the king by his own zeal, and 
addressed his sons, on the 8th November, in a circular, in 
which he sets forth the excellence of this work and its 
utility for the good of souls, and exhorts them to prepare 
themselves with all possible zeal, as being nothing less 
than the accomplishment of the very end of their institute. 
He was at the same time full of gratitude for all these 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


467 


blessings of Divine Providence, and wished therefore that 
due thanks should be offered to God for them. In conse¬ 
quence, he wrote, on the 24th of January 1779, to all the 
houses, to direct that every evening the following prayer 
should be recited in common, and repeated three times, 
adding each time a Pater, an Ave, and Gloria Patri: 
“ What have I desired in heaven or on earth but thee, oh 
thou God of my heart and my portion for ever? My Jesus, 
I devote myself wholly to thee; I wish for nothing but 
thee ; I wish for nothing more.” “ Prayer,” said he, un¬ 
ceasingly, “ is all-powerful with God.” 

The honorable preference which the king bestowed thus 
on the missionaries, and particularly the promise of future 
liberality, filled their adversaries, and especially the procu¬ 
rator, with dismay and the bitterest sorrow. “Strange 
fancy!” exclaimed the procurator; “it would seem as if 
scandal, is to be made lawful, and even rewarded, although 
it causes ruin to the State and to the Church.” He lost 
courage, as did also the commissioner, but they made one 
last effort in despair of gaining their cause; they entreated 
the royal council for a new appeal, hoping that at least the 
baron might then be able to recover the property left by 
his brother, and that they might thus escape entire confu¬ 
sion. But neither the one nor the other saw the end of 
this affair. They were both prematurely cited before the 
tribunal of Jesus Christ: the one died on coming out of a 
bath, without being able to have the sacraments adminis¬ 
tered to him, and the other was found dead in his carriage. 
As the other supporters of the baron disappeared also, he 
had no longer any heart or strength to go on with his 
wicked prosecution. 

Having thus shown at length all the anxieties, troubles 
and labors occasioned to our saint by the persecutions 
raging against his Congregation up to this time, let us re¬ 
late his other occupations and doings in the meanwhile, 
that is, from the commencement of the year 1777, when 
we left him. He was applied to by Cardinal Banditi for 
the establishment of a house of his missionaries at Bene- 


468 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


vento. After this town had been given up to the Pope, 
on the entrance of the Neapolitan army on the 5th of Feb¬ 
ruary 1774. various petitions were addressed to the Holy 
Father, to expose to him, (the see being vacant,) the spiri¬ 
tual necessities of the people. When Mgr. Banditi, the 
Bishop of Montefiascone, was elected archbishop of this 
town and made cardinal, the Holy Father Pius VI charged 
him to suggest some expedient by which he might further 
the glory of God and the good of souls at Benevento, and 
supply the void which the Jesuits had left there from 
the time of their suppression. Cardinal Banditi consulted 
the canons of the Cathedral and the nobles of the town, 
and all agreed to give up the church and college of the 
suppressed Jesuits to the Redemptorist Fathers, as well as 
all the rentals attached to them. The Cardinal applied to 
Alphonsus, who declined the offer with thanks, saying that 
Benevento already possessed a great many eminent reli¬ 
gious who could supply the spiritual wants of the people, 
while his missionaries were more profitably engaged 
among the poor in the country. 

Neither the clergy nor the nobles of Benevento would 
give up the point, and as they were unable to prevail on 
Alphonsus, they addressed themselves to F. Villani; who, 
being moved by the reasons exposed to him by the Cardi¬ 
nal, succeeded in persuading Alphonsus, (who was himself 
forced to acknowledge the justice of these representations,) 
no longer to refuse to acquiesce in the foundation. When 
Pius VI was informed of it, he rejoiced greatly, and in a 
letter written with his own hand, on the 22d of April 
1777, he granted to the missionaries the said church and 
college, and on the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 
the 6th of June of the same year, they entered in posses¬ 
sion of this house. 

The other two houses in the Pontifical States were in 
great poverty and distress, and in consequence were a 
source of solicitude and anxiety to Alphonsus, the more 
so as he thought and said : “ In the event of a tempest 
these houses will be our refuge.” We will confine our- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


469 


selves to transcribe some passages of the many letters ho 
wrote to them during this year. “The house of Frosi- 
none,” he wrote to F. de Paul, on the 7th of July 1777, 
“ interests me more than that of Girgenti, because that 
house is independent of the kingdom. The persecutions 
we endured at Naples have not yet terminated, and I 
attach the greatest importance to maintaining this founda¬ 
tion, for which we are indebted to the Pope :” and on the 
17 th of September: “I have again been suffering from one 
of those catarrhs which will one day deprive me of life. . . . 
If it be God’s pleasure, I should like to live until I can 
succeed, through my pension, in completing the affair of 
the patronage of the church, and in finishing the building 
now commenced. Tell me what state the little rooms 
near the church are in. For the present I can only dis¬ 
pose of about ten carlins ; but I hope to receive some money 
from St. Agatha shortly. Do not doubt that I will send 
you as much as I can.” Alphonsus attached weight to 
each subject’s having his own room : “ Without that,” said 
he, “ a religious is a most miserable man.” “ I will do all 
in my power,” he said, in another letter, “to assist you as 
soon as possible. . . Father Landi has just written to tell, 
me that they are in the greatest misery at Scifelli; I have 
been obliged to divide the small sum of which I have been 
able to dispose by causing six ducats to be borrowed. . . ~ 
I have a great many debts. I am in continual distress^ 
from seeing that I cannot assist Frosinone and Scifelli as I 
should wish. ... I have been begging alms, and I have got 
thirteen ducats, which added to the other twenty-seven, 
amount to forty.” “ F. Constant,” he says in another 
letter, “has twice reproved me sharply for not having sent 
him more than two hundred ducats, whilst he was four 
hundred and fifty scudi in debt. Yes, it is true that I told 
him to procure some money by borrowing, but I meant 
that it should be a moderate sum. ... If I do not take 
some money from the pension, where shall T. find any? 
Even were I to sell my cassock I should not obtain twenty 
carlins. I will beg and provide for it as well as I can.” 
40 


470 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


“I have never dispensed you,” he wrote to F. de Paul, 
who had entered into some agreement about the patronage 
of a chapel at Frosinone, “ I have never dispensed you 
from giving me information of what you do. Thank 
God, I am not yet dead, and have not lost my senses. 
On the contrary, I have been an advocate and a bishop, 
and I have several times had to do with such things. 
I am now superior-general ; what reason can there be for 
not informing me? . . . For the future, I wish to be in- 
formed of every thing that takes place. . . . There is per¬ 
haps no house which has given me more trouble than that 
of Frosinone. God be praised !” “ Do not arrange about 

any mission,” he wrote to the same Father, on the 15th of 
October, “ without having previously informed me all about 
it; you must excuse yourself to the bishops who ask you 
for missions, by saying that you cannot allow them without 
my leave. ... I wish the missions to be conducted with all 
possible prudence and edification, and in quite an apos¬ 
tolical spirit.” Thus we see how Alphonsus’ solicitude 
extended itself to every thing; and above all, how anxious 
he always was about the great work of the missions, never 
being satisfied with all he said about them in his works, 
and in the many instructions, circulars, and letters which 
he never ceased to write about them. 

In order to increase still further the good produced in 
them, by the happy influence of those graces which are ac¬ 
corded by the head of the church, he addressed, on the 12th 
of September 1777, a detailed recital to Pope Pius VI, of 
the origin and progress of the Congregation, its labors and 
sufferings, as well as of the good which the missions ef¬ 
fected, and entreated his Holiness to communicate to him 
the graces, privileges, and indulgences which had been 
granted to the Passionist Fathers; and he obtained all that 
he had asked for. 

“I have heard that your reverence,” he wrote on the 
12th of September of the same year to F. D. Diodates 
Crisenoli, “ has accepted an exercise for Lent in the dio¬ 
cese of Sora, and that F. de Paul has done so at Atin, in 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


471 


the diocese of Aquino. ... I do not wish your reverence, 
or any one else, to agree to undertake such exercises, es¬ 
pecially in the kingdom. Our institute forbids it, and it 
would become a cause for jealousies. In any event, your 
reverence must try to excuse yourself to Mgr. de Sora, and F. 
de Paul to the bishop of Aquino, by representing my prohi¬ 
bition to them, and the observance of rule which I require. 
I wish you to be solely engaged in missions ; they are what 
God wishes from us, and not Lenten sermons. Obey, how¬ 
ever great be the solicitations of parishes and bishops. To 
F. de Paul, who had asked to be allowed to preach during 
Lent in the college of Frosinone, and to accept the remu¬ 
neration for it, he answered : “ As for preaching this Lent, 
it is true there are some reasons for so doing on account 
of our extreme want, but I will not have the rule broken 
which expressly forbids it. Leave all to our good God. If 
we labor for Him, Pie will never allow us to want what is 
necessary.” “You know,” he wrote on the 12th of Octo¬ 
ber to the same F. de Paul, “ that I keep up these houses 
in Romagna to see the rule vigorously attended to. Man¬ 
age so that the fathers make the accustomed retreat, or if 
they are ill, at least a part of it.” “ You tell me,” he said in 
another letter, “ that the house might very well be inhabited, 
but the doctor thinks that it ought not to be used before 
October, and I will not endure remorse for having caused 
the death of some one of my brethren.” 

When the necessary buildings were finished, he wrote as 
follows: “I send you thirty ducats as a subsidy for the 
house of St. Cecily, (at Frosinone.) I do not wish them 
to be spent in building, but only for the maintenance of the 
subjects. Extraordinary expenses must not be incurred 
for the church, nor for pictures, statues, chasubles, or 
other rich ornaments without my permission. On solemni¬ 
ties, decorations and illuminations must be spared, even 
if others are willing to bear the cost. I also forbid every 
kind of adornment of the altar, such as decorations in 
silk or any other rich material; let it be ornamented with 
garlands, candles, and flowers: these are befitting the state 


472 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


of poverty in which we are at present.” “I have always 
felt as much affection for Frosinone as for Scifelli,” he says 
in another letter, “but there are a great number of young 
men at Scifelli who are now in want of bread, F. Landi 
has written me word. Foundations in their commence¬ 
ment occasion distress, confusion, contradiction, and 
misery; but if we remain entirely resigned to the will of 
God, he will remedy every thing. Let us behave properly, 
and Jesus Christ will protect us.” “I entreat your rever¬ 
ence,” he wrote to F. de Paul, then superior at Frosinone, 
“to be humble towards your companions and affable to¬ 
wards all, especially in mission time, and to treat your 
brothers with all possible consideration, remembering that 
they are far from their country and their family, and that 
thus they have a right to have the exercise of charity re¬ 
doubled in their regard.” 


CHAPTER XXXII. 


Alphonsus exerts himself incessantly for the welfare of the 
Church at large, and for the general promotion of piety. 
His efforts to maintain discipline in the Congregation. 

UCH was Alphonsus’ admirable solicitude for the well- 



O being and perfection of his subjects in the pontifical 
states, while in his retreat at Nocera, amidst the unceasing 
persecutions in the kingdom. It was in the same retreat, 
and about this time, that he composed a work, entitled, 
“ The fidelity of subjects towards God is a sure pledge of 
that which they have for their prince.” “ They deceive 
themselves,” said he, speaking of monarchs, “ they will 
never have any peace, if they have not the prevention 
of immorality at heart; where religion does not reigrij 
iniquity triumphs, as well as perfidy; admit sin, and all is 
in peril; but if they make their subjects faithful towards 
God, they will find that they will be equally faithful to¬ 
wards them.” When he wrote this work, he said to one 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 473 

of the fathers in a transport of zeal: “Have as many mis¬ 
sions as you please ; but if I gain one sovereign, it is 
worth more than a thousand missions, for the good which 
a sovereign who is touched by the grace of God can do, 
could not be effected by a thousand missions. He sent 
several copies of this work to Cardinal Castelli, and through 
him to all the ministers of foreign powers. He also ap¬ 
plied to Canon Henry Hennequin to get it conveyed to the 
august Maria Theresa, to the electoral Princes of Cologne 
and of Treves, as well as to the archbishops and bishops of 
the empire who had temporal possessions. He also trans¬ 
mitted it to Prince Charles, the governor of the Nether¬ 
lands, to the kings of Spain and Portugal, to the king of 
Turin, to the duke of Parma, and to the grand-duke of 
Tuscany; in a word, to all the Catholic sovereigns and 
principal ministers. None of the answers of these person¬ 
ages to Alphonsus are in existence, for, according to cus¬ 
tom, he sacrificed them to his humility. The work became 
so celebrated that it was translated into French and sold in 
different kingdoms. “This work,” said the translator, “is 
the voice of a soul which thirsts for nothing but the glory 
of religion, the spread of morality, and the happiness of 
sovereigns and their subjects, and which has no other am¬ 
bition than that of leading men to virtue and rendering 
them happy.” By this, as well as by his other publications, 
Alphonsus has shown a zeal as universal as ardent. It 
was this zeal also which caused him to weep bitterly at 
seeing what progress infidelity and libertinism made in 
France, through the fatal influence of the writings of Vol¬ 
taire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau ; the more so as their 
contagion had begun to penetrate into Italy, and the works 
of Voltaire formed the fashionable reading at Naples, so 
that even ladies made them the pastime for their idleness. 
As his age and infirmities no longer left him strength 
enough to combat them, he unceasingly encouraged dif¬ 
ferent literary friends of his at Naples to labor in their re¬ 
futation. In the midst of this grief, a refutation of the 
errors of Voltaire by the Abbe Nonnote fell into his hands; 
40* 


474 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS 


he was full of joy at this, and could not cease to thank 
God for having raised up a man who braved the spirit of the 
age, and occupied himself for his glory with such courage¬ 
ous devotion. Animated by holy zeal, he wrote a letter of 
congratulation and encouragement to him on his having 
dared to undertake the refutation of the most impious of 
blasphemers. No tongue can express with what consola¬ 
tion this letter filled the heart of the worthy priest of Be- 
san^on, who, as we shall presently show by his own words, 
found little encouragement in his own country, though he 
so zealously and triumphantly fought the battles of the 
Lord. He testified his gratitude to the saintly bishop, in 
a letter dated the 21st of April 1778, in the most glowing 
terms: “I am accustomed,” he says among other things, 
“ to appreciate nothing except in conformity to the spirit 
of God ; it is an unspeakable pleasure to me to meet with 
men who also value the things of God alone, and who being 
in themselves greater than great dignities could make 
them, cause one to be in doubt whether most to admire in 
them the gifts of genius which they possess or the bright 
lustre of the greatest virtue. I have often sought for such 
men ; I had not found any such, when your letter arrived 
to inform me that there is one in Naples. . . . All who 
ihave read your excellent and very celebrated work on 
Moral Theology congratulate me on my having received 
such a flattering letter from so learned a prelate, and I 
congratulate myself in turn for having received the appro¬ 
bation of so distinguished a man for my works.” 

In order to encourage this generous confessor to strive 
more and more against these impious and furious enemies 
of the church, Alphonsus undertook to present a petition 
to the sovereign pontiff to obtain an apostolical brief in 
favor of the Philosophical Dictionary of Religion. “It is 
with unspeakable pleasure and gratitude,” Abbe Nonnotte 
wrote to him, “ that I have heard that you have resolved to 
address a petition to the sovereign pontiff, to ask him for 
an approbation of my dictionary, such as Clement XIII 
deigned to give to my book called ‘The Errors of Yol- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


475 


taire.’ It is indeed a thing which I most ardently desire, 
and for this reason I sent him my works, but have not re¬ 
ceived any answer, although Cardinal Pallavicini told me 
that he had transmitted them to the sovereign pontiff. 
Have I then to believe that my work has been despised by 
this great pope ? . . . You exhort me to attack and to 
combat unceasingly all the new sophisms which may again 
be brought forth by the followers of this infernal philoso¬ 
phy. ... I have already undertaken to do all that you 
wish for and hint at, nay, I have even completed it; but 
the want of suitable and necessary assistance has pre¬ 
vented me from publishing what I have written. ... I 
should have been exceedingly glad to have this work 
printed at Paris . . . but every one here is so full of wild 
admiration for Voltaire, or rather, the fear which this ex¬ 
tremely sarcastic man inspires is so great, that I have not 
been able to succeed in finding a friendly examiner; on 
the contrary, even the archbishop of Paris himself told me 
that I should never find a censor of this kind. ... I shall 
perhaps be obliged to cause a book which I have written 
in defence of religion to be printed at Geneva, because 
Catholics have not courage to doit. . . . For upwards of 
twenty years I have been constantly under arms to fight for 
the Lord, and I have never received any aid from man ; on 
the contrary, I have been loaded with invectives from the 
impious.” 

This reply of the Abbe filled Alphonsus with sorrow and 
regret. “ O God !” exclaimed he, “ at Paris, where there 
are so many Christian orators, there is not any one to be 
found who will oppose this monster who is so great an 
enemy to the Church and to religion, and this defence must 
be published at Geneva! Miserable beings that we are! 
This is the authority the Church has at Paris! She cannot 
face an infidel and reprove his audacity ! Poor archbishop ! 
Poor church ! This abuse will undoubtedly not remain 
unpunished! Poor France! I pity thee, and 1 pity the 
many innocent people who will be involved in thy dis¬ 
grace !” Let us remember that these words were uttered 


476 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


only eleven years before the catastrophe of 1789, that is, 
the first French revolution, with all its horrors and expia¬ 
tory rivers of blood. Alphonsus would have liked to send 
letters to the king. “But how could I effect at a dis- 
tance,” said he, “ what the archbishop and so many good 
bishops cannot obtain although they are on the spot?” 

A ray of false consolation came for a moment to soften 
the grief of the afflicted old man : in the May of this same 
year, 177S, there was a report that Voltaire had retracted 
his errors and blasphemies, and that corresponding with 
the influence of grace, he had declared himself to be a sin¬ 
cere Catholic. It is impossible to express what joy Al¬ 
phonsus felt when he heard of this conversion. Animated 
by fresh zeal, he at once wrote a letter to congratulate him 
on his return to grace, and on the great good which his 
conversion would confer on the whole church, and at the 
same time to encourage him to write something 1 as a refu- 
tation of his errors and sophisms, or if possible to use his 
pen against another modern writer, Rousseau ; promising 
earnestly to pray to God to give him strength, if not to 
write, at least to dictate (Voltaire suffered then from his 
eyes) something against the unbelievers of those times. 
But soon Alphonsus received the tidings that the rumor of 
Voltaire’s conversion was unfounded, or rather grew out of 
one of his many hypocritical simulations of conversion, and 
that he persisted in his obstinacy. He was on the point of 
sending his letter, but had to keep it back. “ Such con¬ 
versions,” he then said, “ are not ordinary graces; they are 
the effects of divine mercy, but not of a common degree 
of mercy. God only grants blessings of this sort to those 
whose errors have not arisen from a bad intention, like those 
of St. Paul. But all is very bad in Voltaire.” On the 30th 
of May, in this same year, 1778, Voltaire passed out of 
this life, having died in impenitence and despair. On the 
2d of July following, his colleague in evil, J. J. Rousseau, 
also died a sudden death. “I received the tidings of the 
death of the unhappy Rousseau,” Alphonsus wrote to a 
friend, on the 13th of September: “God be praised for 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


477 


having delivered the church from two of its greatest ene¬ 
mies in so short a time.” 

Alphonsus had one source of consolation about this 
time, however. Let us hear himself speaking of it in one 
of his works; (“ Spiritual Reflections p. 2, p. 25) “may 
I be permitted here to manifest the great joy I have lately 
experienced. I have been positively assured, that the cele¬ 
brated Abbs P. Metastasio, after having received so many 
praises for his poetry throughout Europe, which is all the 
more dangerous from its being so very beautiful, because his 
tender and ardent expressions are thereby all the more 
calculated to kindle the flames of impure love in the heart, 
(I only allude to his profane poems,)—I have been assured, 

I say, that he is going to publish a little book in prose, 
wherein he protests his profound repentance for his dan¬ 
gerous poetry, and the wish he has, if possible, to with¬ 
draw this kind of works from the hands of the public, at 
any price whatever, even at the expense of his own 
blood. ... It is also said that he leads quite a retired life, 
spent in prayer and devotional exercises. This has given 
me unspeakable consolation, because this public declara¬ 
tion and the great and good example he gives, will cause 
many misguided young people to think seriously, who 
have tried to gain a name and glory through amorous 
poems of a similar description. . . . Thus, whilst I for¬ 
merly detested the vanity which made him glory in pro¬ 
ducing such compositions, I cannot now cease to praise , 
him, and, were it in my power, I would kiss his feet on 
seeing him become the censor of his own works, and pro¬ 
fessing a wish to stop their circulation in the world, even 
at the price of his own blood, as he himself said.” 

Let us give here another instance of the horror Alphon¬ 
sus had of all amorous poetry, which is so pernicious to 
youth, and with what joy he was filled when any remark¬ 
able composition of sacred poetry came before him. He 
was so much pleased with the compositions of X. Mallei, 
that he was always praising the labor of this distinguished 
man. “ If all occupied themselves thus,” said he, “ we 


478 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


should see lascivious poetry banished from the lips of the 
young.” Maffei, full of gratitude for Alphonsus’ praise 
and esteem for him and his works, did not forget to offer 
his thanks to him in the preface to his translation of the 
Psalms. On the 30th of November 1774, Alphonsus re¬ 
plied to him as follows: “ It gives me great comfort to re¬ 
ceive your little work on the Psalms, and I keep your much 
esteemed letter before me whilst I am composing my work, 
(also on the Psalms.) This is fitted for the learned as well 
as for the ignorant, because it both instructs and pleases, 
while mine is only for the ignorant, and has nothing at¬ 
tractive. Your translation has been applauded by the lite¬ 
rary men throughout all Italy, and I may even say through¬ 
out all Europe ; what I have done is scarcely able to 
please even a small number of devout persons. I see what 
progress you make as a lawyer, but how much I should 
have preferred to see you continue to make use of the 
great talents and knowledge which God has given you by 
exercising them for the good of His church. However, 
even in the position in which you are, you can do a great 
deal for the service of religion, since every one takes upon 
himself to speak of theology and of the Holy Scriptures, 
and to put forth whatever propositions he pleases.” 

In the year 1779, Alphonsus’ humility made him become, 
like another St. Charles Borromeo, a public penitent. For 
six months, that is to say, from the 16th of December 1778, 
the heavens had become like brass, and there had not been 
a drop of rain. The whole country was in distress, fear¬ 
ing the loss of the corn and the fruit. Alphonsus was 
moved at the sight of such a scourge, and wept over the 
sins of the people. One Sunday, (it was the 13th of May 
1779,) notwithstanding his weakness, he undertook to 
make a penitential procession, in order to obtain God’s 
pardon and the favor which was so much longed for. After 
having put on his purple vestments, which he was never in 
the habit of doing, he covered himself with ashes; and ac¬ 
companying his sons with a rope around his neck, he re¬ 
solved to go and place a large cross in the parish church. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


479 


The way was long, hut all efforts to dissuade him from 
going were useless. It was with great difficulty that he 
was persuaded to go half the way in a carriage. He was 
determined to go the rest of the way on foot; and as his 
state of exhaustion no longer allowed him to walk without 
support, the lay-brother and others aided him in perform¬ 
ing this painful pilgrimage. 

All the inhabitants assisted at this ceremony—the church 
and the square were crowded with people. In order to 
satisfy all, the pulpit was placed at the church door, and as 
Alphonsus was not able to ascend it, he was carried up to 
it. He preached for upwards of an hour upon the punish¬ 
ment which sinners deserve, and exhorted all his hearers 
to do penance. His words, added to such a touching 
spectacle, made a general impression, and on that very 
evening the salutary effects were seen by the great number 
of those who went to cast themselves at the feet of the con¬ 
fessors. But heaven appeared to be insensible. The next 
day, after vespers, when Alphonsus was returning from his 
accustomed drive, and had nearly reached the house, he or¬ 
dered the coachman to turn back, and to go to the chapel 
where the month of Mary was celebrated. He entered the 
church, and went and prostrated himself before the altar of 
the Blessed Virgin. This drew a crowd together, and Al¬ 
phonsus caused the image *of Mary to be exposed, and ex¬ 
horted all present to have recourse to their divine Mother. 
After he had prayed in silence for some time, he again 
turned towards the crowd : “ Continue,” said he to them, 
“to recommend yourself to our Lady with confidence; 
confess and communicate this week, and you will have 
rain on Sunday.” And so it was, for on the predicted 
day, just when it was least expected, and when the impa¬ 
tient people were murmuring and saying that he was mis¬ 
taken for this time, a sudden change was perceived in the 
atmosphere, and the rain fell in such great abundance that 
all the country was deluged. It was impossible not to see 
the favor which the Blessed Virgin had granted to the 
prayers of her servant; but as to Alphonsus, it seemed 


480 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


almost a cause of confusion to him, and he said, when he 
returned : “ The words I addressed the people are taken as 
a prophecy: they merely escaped from me by chance, 
however, for I am no prophet.” 

We have seen above how the persecutions to which the 
Congregation had been so long exposed, ended in this 
year, 1779. The greatest evil resulting from them had 
been a certain interior derangement and relaxation in the 
regular observance of the rule; some taking advantage of 
these troubles to have their own way, and in many instances, 
the superiors, to their great regret, being forced to bear with 
this, or at least to be very careful when they gave any 
reprimand, and in the expulsion of an incorrigible sub¬ 
ject finding still more difficulty. But as the pilot, after the 
tempest, causes all the damages which the vessel has sus¬ 
tained to be repaired, and gets the rigging renewed, so 
Alphonsus, after the storm of these persecutions, occupied 
himself in remedying the injuries which the observance of 
the rule had sustained. He became inflamed with zeal, 
and rigorously required that discipline should be respected. 
“Inthe Congregation,” said he, “one must either edify, 
or go.” Therefore he wrote a circular to all the superiors 
of the houses to encourage them and enkindle in them 
the same zeal for regular observance, and he set himself, 
without respect of persons, to correct what was wrong, 
and to give both verbal and written warnings to the 
rectors, as well as to the subjects. He insisted on this 
point, and never rested until he was satisfied ; he was re¬ 
solved to dismiss all the rebellious spirits from the Congre¬ 
gation, and he unceasingly prayed to God for this end. 
Several of those to whom the yoke of the religious life 
seemed too heavy, returned into the world, and Alphonsus, 
whilst he deplored their misfortune, was more consoled at 
their departure than at the reception of those who were 
fervent. 

Some had taken the liberty to retire to their homes on 
frivolous pretexts. Alphonsus had complained of this to 
F. Vdlani before his resignation, but during the troubles 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


481 


this father had to shut his eyes to a great many tilings. As 
soon as peace was restored, Alphonsus took the most effica¬ 
cious means to cause all the subjects to return to their respec¬ 
tive houses. One of them would not obey, and got several 
persons to intercede for him. Alphonsus delayed action 
for a while, but on seeing that he was incorrigible, he ulti¬ 
mately sent him away, saying: “I pity this unhappy man; 
God knows how to punish these wilfully deaf persons, 
who set no value on their vocation.” And as if he had 
prophesied, this subject was afterwards miserably assassi¬ 
nated, on account of the crime of usury, which he had 
practised in favor of his nephews, for the love of whom he 
had become unfaithful to his vows. 

Although circumstances thus forced Alphonsus to act 
with severity, he did not fail to use at the same time all 
possible circumspection and prudence: “I have let all the 
subjects know,” he wrote to a subject who also was absent, 

“ that they must each return to the house assigned to them 
within fifteen days. I have sent this announcement to all, 
couched in the same terms, and in the same form. How- , 
ever, as I have a peculiar degree of esteem for you, I take 
the trouble of addressing a separate letter to you, different 
from the others. I do not write to tell you that you must, 
positively return in the space of fifteen days; I only beg 
you to let me know what necessity there is for your rever¬ 
ence’s remaining with your relations. . . . My dear D. Bar¬ 
tholomew, your reverence is one of the oldest fathers, 
your example will therefore cause the more harm and will 
be a precedent for others. ... I beg you at least to write 
and tell me the reason which keeps you in the world, be¬ 
cause I shall exercise all possible indulgence towards you. 
provided it be a reasonable one, and I must give some kind 
of reason for your absence. I have for some time wanted 
to beg you to come and remain with me at Nocera, where I 
am superior, in the midst of difficulties, and in continual, 
need of some prudent person whose advice lean ask.” 

In the following letter we will see an instance of his- 
firmness: “Your reverence,” he wrote to a rector, “must. 
41 


482 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


give Father N. a sharp reprimand; I have not wished to 
dismiss him, as he has deserved, as a punishment for his 
fault and also for his habitual obstinacy, but tell him in 
my name, that I shall be obliged to do it the first time he 
again commits a fault of a similar nature. I think it arises 
from his goingout too much. Your reverence must there¬ 
fore not send him out any more, nor allow him to go out 
again unless you have my written consent for it; and you 
must not continue his faculties, because he must have for¬ 
gotten the little he knew by going about from place to place 
in this way without ever studying moral theology, and this 
makes me afraid to allow him to continue as a confessor.” 
On hearing that a subject entertained too loose opinions, 
he positively forbade him to hear confessions, and he was 
so strict with him that he himself asked to be released 
from the vows. He also dismissed another in a similar 
manner who would not conquer a certain levity of conduct. 

As we have already seen, in Alphonsus, firmness was 
never severed from prudence. On hearing that a certain 
subject disliked going on missions, he did not give him any 
definite order to do so, as he feared a refusal; but once 
when this subject was in his room with others, he dexter¬ 
ously began to speak of the value of obedience, and of 
the injury which he who is intractable inflicts on himself; 
this caused him to reflect seriously, and he of himself of¬ 
fered to do what was wished. In general, whenever the 
resistance proceeded rather from nature than from the will, 
Alphonsus had compassion on the weakness of the man, 
and tried by his gentleness to soften the bitterness of his 
command. “ I have received your letter;” he wrote to the 
superior of a house, “ in one part you console me, and in 
another you distress me. I find therein certain words 
which I did not expect from your submission and your love 
of obedience. You say, * I am resolved to return to the’king- 
dom.’ I pity you, for I see that you wrote these words in 
distress of mind. . . . My letter could not have provoked 
such language, because I wrote it with all the affection I 
have ever felt towards you. And then, you say, some think 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


483 


that you are of a peevish temper, as F. Villani has told you. 
But did not your piety demand that you should have re¬ 
ceived this mortification peacefully, and the more so be¬ 
cause you know how much I esteem and love you? F. 
Villani gave me a similar reprimand myself; but, thank 
God, I received it quietly, and it has caused me to be more 
moderate and humble.” 

On the 8th of September 1779, D. Hercules expired, of 
a disease which was as violent as it was unexpected. Al- 
phonsus had had a presentiment of it three months before, 
though his brother was then robust and in perfect health. 
One day when he was meditating according to custom, he 
suddenly turned towards F. Costanzo and said : “ Hercu¬ 
les will cause me sorrow this year.” Alphonsus was al¬ 
ways united to the will of God, so he received the tidings 
with calmness. “Good God!” he exclaimed; he then 
clasped his hands and was silent. When he heard that 
D. Hercules had left the advocate, D. Peter Gavolti, as 
tutor to his children, but under his authority and that of 
counsellor D. Nicholas Vespoli, their relation, he felt com¬ 
forted, and instantly dictated a letter to the former, not so 
much in order to secure the temporal interests of his 
nephews, as to urge him to attend to their religious edu¬ 
cation. D. Gavotti replied: “lam quite at your service, 
and I will devote myself as far as I can to the good of your 
nephews, but your Lordship must pray to God to deliver 
me from the headache which continually afflicts me.” 
“Take care of these little children,” Alphonsus replied to 
him, “ and be sure that God will relieve you.” Don Ga¬ 
votti has attested that when he received this letter, he felt 
instantly cured, and he never suffered again from this 
malady as long as he lived. 

Alphonsus felt the greatest interest in the welfare of D. 
Theresa, his niece, who was sixteen years of age at this 
time, and a pensioner at the convent of St. Marcelline. 
His only w r ish was to see her consecrated to Jesus Christ, 
as she had manifested a desire to that effect some time be¬ 
fore. He wrote to her to remind her of her former reso- 


484 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


lution, and exhorted her to be faithful to God, who had 
inspired her with this desire. “ If any one advises you to 
leave the convent,” he wrote to her in one of his letters, 
“and to go and throw yourself down a precipice, that is 
to say, to marry, do not listen to such counsel, for you 
will certainly repent of it the second day. . . . Take the 
advice of a good confessor, and of some nun of exemplary 
life.” He prayed most fervently for this object, and he 
■wrote to his cousin, Antonia Liguori, also a nun, to beg 
flier to watch over her, as also to D. Gavotti, to urge him to 
attend to her vocation. “ I have begged her confessor,” 
Ihe wrote to him, “ to be most careful in directing her so 
•that she may become a nun, and I also beg you to assist 
Hiim in this, because if she marries in this corrupt age I 
shall look upon her as lost.” 

Alphonsus obtained what he so ardently desired. D. 
Theresa soon declared that she wished to embrace the reli¬ 
gious state ; Counsellor Vespoli and D. Gavotti opposed her 
on the ground that she was yet too young, but she insisted 
upon it, and Alphonsus did not fail to second her. When 
she had to leave the convent, according to custom, before 
entering on the noviciate, he feared to entrust her to her 
relations, saying: “If we place her in the house of her 
parents, she will incur a thousand dangers; there will be 
parties, theatres and soirees; this will be quite enough to 
cause her to lose her vocation.” In consequence, he ap¬ 
plied to his penitent the Duchess of Bovino, who willingly 
consented to receive her into her house. Whilst with the 
Duchess, the only recreation D. Theresa asked for was to 
go to Nocera to kiss the hand of her uncle. 

Although the visits of ladies were usually disagreeable 
to Alphonsus, that of his niece was an exception, and gave 
him the greatest pleasure. The duchess and her daughter 
stayed three days at Nocera. The presents he gave them 
were confined to copies of the Visits to the Blessed Sacra¬ 
ment, and of the Preparation for Death, with a relic, in a 
little box of no value. D. Theresa had been suffering from 
a wound in her leg for six months. When Alphonsus 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


485 


heard of it, he was much distressed; and when she knelt 
down and asked him for his blessing on taking leave of 
him, he said to her: “I bless you as your uncle, and as a 
bishop.” This took place in the morning, and in the even¬ 
ing when the wound was unbandaged at Naples, the sur¬ 
geon, the duchess, and the other members of the house¬ 
hold found, to their great admiration, that it was entirely 
healed. 

On the 16th of June 1781, D. Theresa returned to the 
convent. After her noviciate, she begged Alphonsus to 
assist at her profession. “Your last letter,” he replied, 
“ has given me such great comfort, that I have been unable 
to restrain my tears: I am sad at being unable to comply 
with your wishes. If God had granted me power to wit¬ 
ness your sacrifice, I should certainly have done nothing 
but shed tears of joy; but he has not granted me this 
consolation.” It was necessary to give a present to her, 
and he did not fail to do so. “I send you this picture 
of the Blessed Virgin,” he said to her, “ to remind you 
to thank her, and unceasingly to implore her protec¬ 
tion.” 

Alphonsus manifested as much indifference regarding 
the establishment and marriage of his nephew, D. Joseph, 
(the eldest of the two,) as he had shown interest in his 
niece’s entrance into religion. Some years back, when 
the boy was not yet thirteen, and D. Hercules, anxious 
to see him settled before his death, had begun a matri¬ 
monial negociation for him with the heiress of Coun¬ 
sellor Vespoli, Alphonsus was distressed at it, and ex¬ 
claimed in a sorrowful manner: “Ah! my little Joseph is 
going to lose the grace of God. ... If but one of the 
servants hears of it, that will be enough to cause little 
Joseph also to know it soon himself. The children of the 
great are lost through servants, through valets de chambres 
and coachmen—they will now say to him, * good news, 
little Joseph, papa has found a pretty young lady for you,’ 
and a thousand other improper remarks; it is thus that 
children get irremediably corrupted.” He was so uneasy 

41* 


486 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


that he commissioned one of the fathers who was then 
about to go to Naples, to tell his brother how much he was 
displeased, and to represent to him that he ran a fearful 
risk of causing his son to be out of the favor of God. After 
his father’s death, when the son w^s of an age to marry, 
Alphonsus entirely referred the matter to Counsellor Ves- 
poli and to D. Gavotti, confining himself to advising them 
not to constrain him, but to choose a wife for him of exem¬ 
plary conduct and of suitable birth. When D. Joseph 
went himself to inform him of the decision about his mar¬ 
riage, Alphonsus received the news with indifference; he 
then gave him his blessing, and said to him: “I pray God 
to bless you alsoadding some good advice, and sent him 
away satisfied. 

It was about this time that Alphonsus finally revised his 
Moral Theology, taking the greatest care to avoid either 
too severe or too lax opinions. As upright intentions are 
always accompanied by the blessings of heaven, this work, 
like all the other works of its saintly author, obtained 
such a high reputation among all the most civilized na¬ 
tions that it was spread throughout Europe. Even 
during his lifetime there were seven editions of the Moral 
Theology published at Naples and at Venice; and it was 
spread not only throughout Italy, but also in France, 
Germany, Poland, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland, and 
even beyond the bounds of Europe, and every where it met 
with applause. With regard to the Visits to the Blessed 
Sacrament, he himself lived to see twenty-two editions of 
,it at Naples and Venice alone, (besides those in other 
places,) and to see it translated into most of the modern 
languages. The most of his other works, whether dog¬ 
matical, polemical or ascetical, were during his lifetime 
translated in various languages, and published in Poland, 
France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, and elsewhere, 
to the great advantage of souls. 

The last work he published w r as that entitled “The 
fidelity of subjects towards God,” &c , of which w r e have 
spoken above. The authority of his director, F. Villani, 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHOWSU3. 


48 ? 


was needed in order to make him put an end to his com¬ 
posing and publishing. However, he published yet some 
little treatises which he composed, as he assured F. Villani, 
by way of relaxation, and Which he had distributed during 
the course of the missions. He had summed up in them, 
in a few pages, these two counsels, viz: “The necessity 
of prayer, and of the intercession of the Blessed Virgin 
Mary.” He composed further in the same way some other 
little treatises on various spiritual subjects. All his works, 
the most important of which have been mentioned by us at 
the several dates of their first publication, make up, in the 
two most complete editions of them, (one of Monza, and 
the other of Turin,) seventy-two volumes, in small oc¬ 
tavo. They will be an eternal monument of his profound 
learning, tender piety, and ardent zeal, as well as of his 
fidelity in keeping the vow he had made not to lose a 
moment of time. 


CHAPTER XXXIII. 


The Congregation , through the treachery and intrigue of 
some of its members , is threatened with complete disorgani¬ 
zation. Alphonsus exhibits through all these trials entire 
submission to the will of God. 

PHONSUS had, on two different occasions, predicted 



f 1_ that he should die as a subject, and not as superior. 
The time of the fulfilment of this prediction was now draw¬ 
ing near, the Lord having pre-ordained that he should not 
finish his long career in peace, but that as one of the living 
stones of the heavenly Jerusalem, he should be perfected 
by the stroke of the chisel to the last. As the devil had 
not been able, by persecutions from without, to gain the 
victory over the Congregation founded by our saint, he 
sought to stir up treason within, in order to cause it to 
be ruined through itself. 



488 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


The rule'was approved and confirmed by the Pope, but 
it had not been sanctioned by the government, and this 
had been one of the chief arguments put forward by its 
enemies, as we have already seen. When, through the 
decree of the 24th of August 1779, the royal approbation 
had been obtained on different points, it was thought to be 
a favorable moment to ask for a general approbation which 
would at last put an end to all further troubles. Mgr. 
Testa, the grand-almoner, who was applied to, did not hesi¬ 
tate to promise his protection, provided the rule were 
transcribed, and the part which was opposed to the royal 
decrees regarding the acquisitions and the rentals of the 
houses were left out. Alphonsus agreed to this; and the 
affair was entrusted to F. Majone, one of the consultors- 
general. This father, under the pretext that if they should 
receive a refusal from the king and the thing should become 
known to its enemies, it would be a blow to the Congrega¬ 
tion, proposed that the whole matter should remain secret 
between the consultors, and that they should all take an oath 
to preserve secrecy in regard to all that might be done in 
the course of this affair. Alphonsus and the other mem¬ 
bers of the council all agreed, and took the oath in conse¬ 
quence. But under the cover of this secresy, F. Majone 
and the consultorwho had been associated with him made 
the most arbitrary changes in the rule, adding to it, modify¬ 
ing it, or abridging it, entirely according to their own fancy. 

Notwithstanding the precautions of F. Majone, sus¬ 
picions were awakened as to his intentions; a report be¬ 
came current among the subjects that innovations were 
about to be made in the rule, and general alarm ensued. 
Protestations were addressed to Alphonsus expressive of 
these fears, and of the wish not to have the rule altered. 
The poor old man, who had no reason to suspect any 
treachery of the kind, endeavored to reassure every one. 
This however did not satisfy the subjects, (though F. Ma¬ 
jone boldly denied every thing,) and the dreaded innova¬ 
tions being specified as relating to poverty and life in com¬ 
munity, unceasing protests were addressed to him and to 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


489 


Alphonsus. Alphonsus persisted in believing in the sin¬ 
cerity of F. Majone, and assured all that there was nothing 
to fear. “ I assure you,” he one day said, taking the little 
cross he wore on his breast in his hand, “that nothing is 
being done against the rule; what is to be retrenched re¬ 
lates only to the acquisitions, because the king does not 
choose to have them and we must obey him.” 

So many appeals, however, aroused the attention of Al¬ 
phonsus, and in order to become more fully acqainted with 
the real state of the case, he wrote to F. Majone, and 
plainly told him that some innovation in regard to poverty 
and life in community was suspected, and that he would 
never agree to that. F. Majone reassured him as to his 
conduct, saying: “As for what you say to me touching 
life in community, to wish to do away with this regulation 
would be to wish to destroy the Congregation. I hope 
that Divine Providence will punish all those who thus 
spread discord.” His intrigues did not end here. He 
came to Nocera, and with audacious effrontery, presented 
the regulations he had made to Alphonsus, assuring him 
that with the exception of what related to the acquisitions 
all the rest was in conformity with the rule. The poor old 
man could not read it himself, the writing being small and 
illegible and covered with erasures and interlinings, so he 
gave it to F. Villani to be examined with care. F. Villani 
saw that the vows had been done away with, and that holy 
poverty had also been injured. “ The king does not wish to 
have vows,” F. Majone said to him. “ Besides, it is not 
for us to make the laws; we must receive them from the 
almoner, and if some slight changes must be made in or¬ 
der to obtain the approbation of the rule it matters little.” 
F. Villani had not the courage to oppose either F. Majone 
or his colleague, and fearing to overwhelm Alphonsus by 
by such sad tidings, he told him that all was going on well; 
Alphonsus believed this and became tranquil in the expec¬ 
tation of a happy termination, no longer doubting that 
the mistrust felt by the subjects was the work of the 
devil. 


490 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


F. Majone returned to Naples, and there consummated 
the work of iniquity. On the 1st of January the aftair was 
proposed to the royal council. F. Majone did not find it 
difficult to obtain all that he wished; the favor of the king, 
and the venerated name of Alphonsus, smoothed all before 
him. As they were ignorant of his deceitfulness, the 
grand-almoner and all the council of state entered wil¬ 
lingly into what they thought would be agreeable to our 
aged saint, and the king most graciously gave his approba¬ 
tion. The whole being thus settled, F. Majone, in order 
to confirm his work, managed that two copies of the said 
regulations should be sent to the office of the ministry by 
royal authority, one of which was intended for the procura¬ 
tor-general, and the other for the royal council. 

On the 27th of February 1780, the mutilated rule reached 
Nocera, accompanied by an official letter from the grand- 
almoner. As soon as this was known, the whole house 
was in a state of anxiety. But F. Villani, who was vicar- 
general and superior, did not open the papers, as Alphon¬ 
sus was too ill for it. But the fathers managed so that 
they got the statutes into their hands the same evening 
and copied them. Before daybreak, they went to awaken 
Alphonsus to tell him of the havoc that had been made, 
and to ask for justice. At these sad tidings the poor old 
man was in the greatest distress; he asked for the fatal 
pages, he looked over them, and in sorrow of soul, he ex¬ 
claimed: “It cannot be! it cannot be!” Then turning 
to F. Villani, he said to him: “ D. Andrew, I did not ex¬ 
pect such deception from you.” He then addressed the 
community, and said: “I deserve to be dragged at a 
horse’s tail, for I ought to have read every thing myself, as 
I am superior.” He then turned to the crucifix with his 
eyes bathed in tears, and exclaimed : “ My Jesus, pardon 
me, I trusted to my confessor; on whom could I have bet¬ 
ter reposed confidence ?” “ You know,” said he, address¬ 
ing the community again, “how much it costs me to read 
even a line.” He then gave way to his tears: “ I have been 
deceived,” he said with sobs, and then was silent. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


491 


He passed the whole morning in profound silence, and 
in such a state of dejection that sorrow seemed to have 
overpowered him ; he would hardly consent to take any 
nourishment, and what he ate he mingled with his tears. 
“Ah, Lord,” he repeated, “punish not the innocent, but 
punish the guilty one who has destroyed thy work.” His 
heart was pierced with the most poignant anguish ; he no 
longer slept, and his life was soon in danger. Not know¬ 
ing what course of action to resolve upon, he was con¬ 
stantly sending first for one subject and then for another, 
in order to obtain the assistance of their advice. On the 
10th of March, he wrote to F. Corrado, who was then at 
Naples: “ My dear D. Bartholomew, I am in danger of be¬ 
coming delirious, for I find that the new regulations made 
by Majone are quite contrary to my opinion. The young 
men here are clamorous about it. I entreat you to leave 
every thing and to come and see me, if you do not wish 
me to lose my senses and to die of grief.” 

F. Majone, on seeing what opposition he met with, put 
on the semblance of zeal, and feigning to pity Alphonsus, 
represented him to the grand-almoner as sinking under af¬ 
fliction in the midst of rebellious subjects. The latter 
therefore immediately intimated to the Congregation in an 
official letter of March 1st 1780, an order to follow the 
new regulations in every particular. The following was its 
conclusion: “Your Lordship, as founder and superior- 
general of the Congregation, must inform each member in 
my name, that this regulation must be put in force from this 
time without any alteration or retrenchment whatsoever, 
for it is now the only rule and is binding in all its parts on 
all the members of the Congregation present and future, on 
superiors, priests, students, and lay-brothers, without any 
room for reply or opposition.” 

It may be imagined how this letter served to increase the 
flame in all the houses. Whilst Alphonsus endeavored to 
allay it, he did not wish for the death of F. Majone, 
who was the cause of all these evils, but rather that he 
should be converted and dwell always among his children. 




492 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


Though every one was bent on his ruin, he neglected no¬ 
thing in order to save him ; he wrote to him at Naples, and 
without speaking of his treachery, he begged him to retire 
into the house at Ciorani, or if that did not please him, into 
any other he should choose. “ Let us forget the past,” he 
said, “and pass over all that has been done. You will 
continue to be consultor-general as formerly, and you will 
give your opinion in all important affairs of the Congrega¬ 
tion. As for your honor, place that in my hands, I will not 
cease to defend it in the Congregation and to strangers.” 
It was thus that he acted towards him with all mildness, 
“ because such is the will of Jesus Christ,” he wrote to an¬ 
other father on the same day, “and it is thus he inspires 
me to act. I shall continue to act thus in his regard until 
God restores peace to us.” But far from yielding to such 
loving measures, F. Majone became more and more inflamed 
with indignation against the Congregation, and against 
Alphonsus himself. On seeing his designs thwarted, he 
resolved to address a petition to the king, to get him to 
constrain the subjects to embrace the new regulations un¬ 
der pain of being expelled from the Congregation. This 
news supplied fresh fuel to the fire already enkindled, but 
caused him also to become still better known; so Alphon¬ 
sus hastened to prevent the consequences of such a step, 
and instantly wrote to Naples on the 12th of April to take 
away from him the procuracy and to transfer it to F. D. 
Bartholomew Corrado, charging the latter to inform the 
grand-almoner of every thing. “If Mgr. Testa,” he said, 
“is not convinced as to the deceit which has been prac¬ 
tised we can obtain nothing from him, because he will 
always say that he has granted me all that I have wished 
for. ... If the regulations are to be maintained I am 
afraid that several will lose their vocation. Try and make 
him understand the state of our Congregation ; tell him that 
we have more than a hundred young men who have finished 
their studies in it, and who would have honorably distin¬ 
guished themselves at the Sorbonne or at Louvain, but that 
F. Maione would destroy them all in order to attain his end. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


493 


Tell him that I have not become imbecile, as F. Majone 
would wish him to believe ; my head is still of use to me, 
although this father labors to make me lose my senses.” 
On the same day he wrote to the grand-almoner himself to 
represent to him the treachery of which he was the victim, 
and to inform him of the spirit which actuated F. Majone, 
who in order to increase his own power as consultor- 
general had tried to take away all the faculties of the 
superior-general, and had added to the regulations all that 
his own fancy suggested to him. 

The subjects, on finding themselves called on by reit¬ 
erated letters from the grand-almoner to follow a rule which 
they had never promised to observe, protested against the 
consultors, and even against Alphonsus himself, for having 
kept the thing a secret. Their dissatisfaction was so great 
that they lost that veneration which they had always cher¬ 
ished and manifested towards him; so that he did not 
know where to steer in such a stormy sea, and did nothing 
but groan in silence at the foot of the crucifix. He again 
wrote a long letter to the grand-almoner; and he sought to 
obtain the aid of D. Joseph Cantore, (one of the first clerks 
in the ministry,) as also that of D. Januarius Fatigati, 
superior of the Chinese College, and Mgr. Bergame, 
bishop of Gaeta—all of whom he knew had some influ¬ 
ence with the grand-almoner. But the latter, who had him¬ 
self taken part in the composition of the new regulations, 
was far from acceding to his wishes, and maintaining 
that the regulations were excellent, refused to annul what 
he had done, as he said, with the consent of the parties. 
He was, moreover, beset by F. Majone, and instead of 
condescending to hear the prayers of Alphonsus and his 
excellent friends, he urged the execution of the regulations. 

Alphonsus had foreseen all this calamity as far back as 
the 25th of January 1780. One day he aroused himself 
from a profound meditation, and said: “ I foresee that the 
devil will do all in his power to overthrow us this year.” 
“ Your reverence must, therefore,” he said, writing on the 
same day to F. Cajone at Benevento, “ cause the short 
42 


494 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


prayers marked in the enclosed paper to be recited every 
evening in common, from the month of February until the 
end of May.” 

Alphonsus, in order to re-establish order and peace in 
the Congregation without incurring the displeasure of the 
Pope or of the king, suspended the execution of the regu¬ 
lations, and after he had recommended the matter to God 
and implored the protection of the Blessed Virgin during 
several days, he decided that, on the return of the Mis¬ 
sionaries from their excursions, a general assembly of two 
subjects out of each house should be held, and the result 
of the deliberations be presented to the king. He con¬ 
sulted several persons at Naples on this subject, and they 
all assured him that these measures would be attended by 
the most happy results. He informed the grand-almoner 
of this resolution, and begged him to lend his support; as 
he received no answer, he charged a father in Naples to 
let him know that “if he will not hear us,” (these are the 
words of his letter,) “I will go to him myself, all paralyzed 
as I am. ... In conclusion, if he will not hear you, I 
will send a thousand letters to the Marquis of Marco, and 
a thousand petitions to the king.” When the grand- 
almoner saw the real state of things, and the general dis¬ 
satisfaction he had produced, he showed a disposition to 
favor Alphonsus, who hastened to communicate the news 
to all the houses, and to announce the general meeting on 
the 1st of May, urging them all to be tranquil in the mean¬ 
while. 

While Alphonsus thus sought to remedy the evil and 
extinguish the flames enkindled in the houses, the devil 
was not backward in improving this opportunity of in¬ 
creasing the fire more and more in order to bring every 
thing to ruin. The house of Frosinone, in the pontifi¬ 
cal states, contained amongst its members one of those 
restless and factious characters who are always a burthen 
to communities. His superiors were constantly obliged 
to remove him from one place to another; these changes 
were very displeasing to him, and hegot indignant againstthe 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


495 


saintly founder, and took advantage of the circumstances of 
the times to create discord between the houses in the states 
and those in the kingdom. He concealed his perfidy under 
the mantle of a lively zeal, while he suggested the raising 
of the standard of rebellion against Alphonsus, and the 
effecting a separation which would render the missionaries 
of the pontifical states independent. In consequence of 
this, steps were taken to have a council held at Rome on 
the 3d of February, at which Alphonsus was denounced as 
an accomplice to the scheme regarding the innovations, 
and was deprived of his dignity as superior: it was also 
decided that the Pope should be informed of this, and that 
he should be entreated to convoke a general chapter of the 
houses in the states, to pronounce their separation from 
those of the kingdom, and to give them power to elect 
another head. 

Alphonsus’ circular ordering the meeting of which we 
have spoken was far from being welcomed by those in the 
states; as they believed that the object was to constrain 
them to adopt the new regulations, they did not even reply 
to it. So he felt obliged, contrary to custom, to issue an 
order to them to send their deputies to this chapter by 
virtue of holy obedience. When these deputies of the 
houses of the states arrived at Nocera, they were accom¬ 
panied by the subject of whom we have spoken, and whom 
we shall designate as the procurator. He was the deputy 
of the house at Frosinone, and came filled with thoughts 
of insubordination and discord, firmly resolved to carry out 
the separation he had projected. The chapter was opened 
on the 12th of May, when flames burst forth on all sides. 
The greater part were prepossessed against F. Majone and 
his colleague, whom they considered as the enemies of the 
Congregation, and wished to expel them from it, or at least 
to depose them; on seeing such exasperation, Alphonsus 
regretted having convoked this meeting, which only seemed 
to forbode disastrous consequences. On the one side he 
saw the partizans of a dangerous novelty, and on the other 
the friends of the rule who were ready to revolt against 


496 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


him, and the procurator bent on increasing the discord. 
With a sense of the impossibility of reuniting them, he 
pressed his crucifix to his heart, and shed tears of bit¬ 
terness, saying: “ On one side I see the disciples of Jesus 
Christ, and on the other the instruments of the devil.” 

When F. Majone saw the impossibility of escaping, he 
strove secretly to thwart the measures which were adopted 
at Naples in regard to the grand-almoner, though Alphon¬ 
sus had all the while been endeavoring to save him and his 
colleague and to prevent any thing being done against 
them. General dissatisfaction was felt in the assembly at 
this course towards F. Majone and his colleague, and at the 
compassion with which F. Villani and another consultor 
had treated them, and, led away by the semblance of holy 
liberty, they audaciously went beyond their prerogative, 
and, on the 20th of May, deposed the six consultors and 
forced Alphonsus to resign his office. The saintly old man 
submitted unresistingly to all. He would have liked to be 
the only victim of the tempest, to restore calm to the trou¬ 
bled sea and to save all his sons from shipwreck. After 
many difficulties, they proceeded to a new election on the 
26th of May: Alphonsus was re-elected as superior-gen¬ 
eral, but of the six former consultors, only the fathers Villani 
and Mazzini were reinstated in consideration of their pre¬ 
vious valuable services, and F. Corrado was nominated 
•vicar-general instead of F. Villani. As F. Corrado did 
not wish to take such a charge upon himself, Alphonsus 
wrote to him, saying: “ I entreat you to accept and fill the 
post; if it be necessary I cast myself at your feet, and I 
hope you will not refuse me.” He had to oblige him to 
accept the office under pain of great sin. • 

As Alphonsus had been unable to preside at this assem¬ 
bly, they adopted the most arbitrary decisions, in contempt 
of the rule as well as in its favor. In a word, the rudder 
was without a steersman, and the Congregation was like a 
vessel without a pilot in the midst of rocks durino- the 
height of the tempest. During the twelve days this contest 
lasted Alphonsus was aimed at by all : his neutrality in re- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


497 


gard to the parties was looked upon as the cause of all the 
evil; some reproached him as well as the consultors, for 
having kept the secret, others for not having listened to 
the general complaints, and instead of admitting the valid¬ 
ity of his reasons, they forgot the respect due to his person 
and loaded him with reproaches: “You have founded the 
Congregation,” they said to him, “you have destroyed it. 
We know not whether God will forgive you this fault.” Al- 
phonsus suffered all in silence, attributing every thing to his 
sins; far from complaining, lie only replied to every one 
with words of respect and kindness, and however bitter 
were his sorrows, he received all as from the hand of God, 
and submitted patiently to drink of that chalice, of which 
the dregs were not even yet fully exhausted. 

After the assembly was dissolved, he found no longer in 
the Congregation the spirit of submission which had existed 
in it before. Division of opinion had produced that of 
hearts, and even in the houses of the kingdom several par¬ 
ties arose, and each one constituted himself judge of what 
had been done and what was to be done. When F. Majone 
saw the evil he had done, and the sorrows Alphonsus had 
to endure in consequence, he had not the courage to re¬ 
turn amongst his brethren. After having recalled him sev- 
eral times, Alphonsus signified to him that if he should 
not return within a given space of time he would be looked 
upon as excluded from the Congregation. The unhappy 
man, in his blindness, preferred to devote himself to the 
service of a baron of rank, as his secretary. It was there 
he terminated his days by a premature end, shedding tears 
over the ills he had caused, and over his own unhappy fate. 

In the midst of this confusion, the F. procurator did not 
lose sight of his criminal designs. As he had been unable 
to succeed in his unjust pretensions, he had withdrawn 
from Nocera with his partizans with a mind filled with 
wicked thoughts. In order to attain his ends, which were 
to mortify Alphonsus and to divide the Congregation, he 
hastened to go to Rome and to present himself before the 
Holy Father. With a great display of zeal he stated to 
42* 


498 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


him what injury the rule approved by Benedict XIV had 
sustained in the kingdom, and begged the Pope’s protec¬ 
tion for himself and the houses of the states, representing 
Alphonsus as caring little for the decrees of the Ploly See. 
Pursuing his perfidious designs, he got also into favor with 
the members of the Sacred Cono-regation, and thus obtained 
on the l*2th of June 1780, a decree, by which the Pope 
charged Cardinal Banditi of Benevento to inform the mem¬ 
bers of the said Conoregation who were in the two houses 
of his diocess, that his will was that they should strictly 
observe the rule and constitutions approved by Benedict 
XIV, that they should obtain a copy of them, and take 
care that they might undergo no alteration. A similar de¬ 
cree was despatched to Mgr. Giacobini, the bishop of 
Veroli, in regard to the houses of Scifelli and Frosi- 
none. 

This decree gave courage to Alphonsus. “ God be 
praised,” he exclaimed, “by this order of the Pope the 
subjects of the states are deprived of the liberty to make 
changes in the rule. My Jesus ! bless the work, for it is 
thine own.” As soon as the decision of the sovereign 
Pontiff was known in the houses of the kingdom, a great 
number of the subjects who were faithful to the rule went 
into the houses of Benevento and St. Angelo, through fear 
of being obliged by the grand-almoner or the king to ob¬ 
serve the new regulations. This was in contempt of Al¬ 
phonsus; however, his resignation was always perfect, and 
bowing his head, he only blessed the hand which struck 
him. He wrote to Cardinal Banditi to entreat him to pro¬ 
tect the Congregation, and to act with freedom without re¬ 
gard to any thing which had been written or done in the 
assembly. “Even if your Eminence wishes,” he added, 
“ to deprive me of my office of superior-general, I say do 
as you think right before God. I have no other wish than 
that of seeing peace restored to my poor Congregation, and 
I know of no one but your Eminence who can succeed in 
doing this. # * * I have ordered all the subjects to obey 
your Eminence blindly.” 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


499 


Not satisfied with ail he had done, the procurator pur¬ 
sued his measures without anybody’s being able to resist 
him. He pretended that the new elections were null and 
void, and demanded in consequence, that the houses in 
the states should no longer be subjected to the authority of 
Alphonsus. His representations were such that, on the 
4th of August, an order was expedited in the Pope’s name 
to Cardinal Banditi and to Mgr. Giacobini, to the effect 
that no obedience was to be paid to the superiors of the 
kingdom in any thing, and that no subject was to be per¬ 
mitted to leave the houses of the states. When Alphonsus 
learned that the Pope had made arrangements in regard to 
the houses of the states, he immediately sent for the most 
ancient fathers of Benevento and St. Angelo, to inquire 
about it, but they replied to him that they were not bound 
to obey him as he was no longer their lawful superior. 
These words were as a sword which pierced his heart; the 
interior conflicts which they caused him to endure twice 
endangered his life. His soul, however, was inseparably 
united with the will of God, and he awaited death with 
calmness; but the Lord, in order to crown his servant more 
gloriously in heaven, had prepared still severer trials for 
him on earth. 

After the procurator had gained the favor of the Sacred 
Congregation, he, (without making known any of the rea¬ 
sons which excused Alphonsus,) drew up a petition on the 
4th of July in the name of the four houses of the states, to 
obtain the convocation of a chapter, or at least the nomina¬ 
tion of a president for these houses; but this wise assembly, 
acting with its usual prudence, before adopting these ex¬ 
treme measures, wished to examine most thoroughly into 
the state of affairs, and instructed the internuncio at Naples 
secretly to inquire into the matter, and to make a faithful 
report thereupon. Alphonsus in consequence received an 
order from Cardinal Caracciolo, the prefect of the Sacred 
Congregation, to remit all the acts which were drawn up 
at the last assembly to the Sacred Congregation, with an 
exact account of all that had taken place. But this order 


500 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


threw Alphonsus into the greatest perplexity. The court 
of Naples had at that time most strictly forbidden any in¬ 
tercourse whatever to be held with the court of Rome. 
Not knowing what to do in these critical circumstances, 
he replied to the cardinal on the 24th of August, that he 
would send two of his fathers to Rome the following No¬ 
vember, to give all the wished-for information by word of 
mouth. In order however that his having sought for delay 
might not be found fault with at Rome, he wrote once 
more to the cardinal to set before him a summary of the 
critical conjuncture in which he was placed, the unhappy 
nature of the attendant circumstances, and his total want 
of power to remedy them. 

The procurator did not fail to cause the delay which Al¬ 
phonsus asked for to pass for a piece of chicanery, made 
use of by him in order to gain time and to elude the orders 
of the Holy See. He multiplied his petitions, exaggerated 
the pretended offence of Alphonsus, and representing 
the injury which the absence of a head would occasion to 
the houses of the states, he redoubled his solicitations 
that a superior should be given to them. He was supported 
especially by those of the house of Frosinone; for which 
house Alphonsus (besides all he had done for it in common 
with the other houses in the states, as we saw above,) had, 
four months before, sold his four services, and had wished to 
sell his carriage and even to deprive himself of actual ne¬ 
cessaries. The procurator was listened to, and through 
the misunderstanding which at that time existed between 
the courts of Naples and of Rome, he succeeded in de¬ 
faming Alphonsus so much that Pius VI, ill-informed, at 
last declared that the houses of the kingdom should no 
longer form part of the Congregation. He stripped Al¬ 
phonsus of his authority, and appointed F. D. Francis de 
Paul superior of the houses in the states. This fatal blow 
was inflicted on the 22d of September 1780. The procu¬ 
rator went farther, and obtained a rescript from the sacred 
penitentiary, to the effect that the Congregation was abol¬ 
ished in the kingdom of Naples, and that no petition 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


501 


coming from a redemptorist missionary out of the Roman 
states should be received; and he caused a paper to be cir¬ 
culated among the other congregations of cardinals, in order 
to get a similar declaration from each of them. 

As Alphonsus did not know how far things had gone, 
he sent two fathers to Rome. They arrived there on the 25th 
of September, but it was too late; every thing had been de¬ 
cided on the 22d. The procurator received the fathers with 
feigned sorrow, saying he had done all that had been in his 
power to undeceive the holy father, and to prove the inno¬ 
cence of Alphonsus to every one ; but at last he took off the 
mask, and showered forth torrents of abuse against Alphon¬ 
sus. “ He has been disappointed of canonization,” he one 
day said with a triumphant air, as if he wished to dishonor 
the saintly founder even beyond the tomb. The two fathers 
could do nothing in Rome ; the Sacred Congregation was 
closed, and the cardinals had gone to their country houses. 
When they returned to Nocera, F. Villani informed Al¬ 
phonsus of the decison adopted against him, just as he was 
preparing for communion and to hear mass. This fatal 
blow quite disconcerted him at first, but he soon rallied, 
and adoring the Divine Will as manifested in that of the 
Pontiff, he said with a profound inclination of his head : 
“ I wish for God alone ; it is enough for me to have His 
grace. The Pope wills it thus. May God be praised !” 
He said nothing more, but he quietly went on with his 
preparation, heard mass, and strengthened himself with 
the eucharistic food. After the thanksgiving, he went out 
in the carriage, when the devil assailed him with a horrible 
temptation : he set before him the ruin of the Congregation 
as his own doing and as a punishment for his sins; he 
tried to persuade him that God had abandoned him, and 
that he had no further hope of salvation. During this pain¬ 
ful conflict he humbled and abased himself, and strove to 
open his heart to confidence; but his humility seemed to 
him as if it were false, and his hope as presumption, and 
he saw nothing before him but despair. He hastened to 
return to the house, and no sooner had he reached the 


502 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


threshold of the door than he burst into tears, and ex¬ 
claimed in a heart-rending tone of voice: “Aid me, the 
devil wants to make me despair; aid me, for I do not wish 
to offend God.” At these cries F. Villani and the whole 
community hurried to him, but he did nothing but repeat: 
“Aid me, the devil tempts me to despair. My sins have 
caused God to abandon the Congregation ; aid me, for I 
do not wish to offend God. The devil wants to lead me to 
despair.” Fathers Villani and Mazzini at last succeeded 
in calming him. When the temptation was dissipated, he 
turned towards the crucifix and a figure of Mary, and re¬ 
peated several times: “My mother, I thank thee; thou 
hast aided me now ; aid me at all times, my dear mother. 
My Jesus, my hope ; I shall never be confounded.” This 
temptation returned to him from time to time, but he over¬ 
come it each time by his confidence in Jesus and Mary. 

In all these troubles he never uttered the slightest com¬ 
plaint. Whenever the fathers began to speak of the injus¬ 
tice done to him he silenced them, and said : “The Pope 
has thus decreed it. God be praised ! The will of the 
Pope is the will of God.” The following Saturday he went 
to the church, though he was so ill, in order that he might 
magnify the Blessed Virgin according to custom, and ask 
for the prayers of the people. F. de Paul was touched 
with compassion in thinking of the sorrow which Alphon- 
eus must feel at seeing the Congregation divided and placed 
under another head, and represented to him that he felt 
sorry to be constrained to displease him through the man¬ 
date of the Pope. To this Alpbonsus replied as follows: 

By God’s grace I have never lost my judgment; I rejoice 
that your Reverence is appointed superior; all is right, 
and you must accept every thing because it is the Pope’s 
will.” In fact he was so indifferent as to his deposition, 
that when a certain religious came to visit him to console 
him for the division which had taken place, and testified 
his great displeasure in regard to the election of the presi¬ 
dent, Alphonsus heard him in silence and made no other 
answer than this: “t care little about my dignity as rector* 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


503 


major being taken from me; it is enough for me that they 
have not taken Jesus my Saviour and my mother Mary 
away from me.” But he was not so indifferent as to the 
breaking of the bond of charity between the subjects of the 
kingdom and those of the states. “ I strive to instill a spirit 
of charity into all my brothers,” he wrote to F. de Paul, 
“ y°«r Reverence must do the same thing on your side, for 
God loves those who love charity.” When Mgr. Bergame 
heard of the distress of his venerable friend he instantly 
went from Naples to see and console him, for he had all 
the tenderness of a son towards Alphonsus. Full of com¬ 
passion for the saintly old man, he resolved to go to Bene- 
vento to see Cardinal Banditi, and to consult with him as to 
the manner in which the work of the missions was to be 
maintained in the kingdom of Naples. He went accom¬ 
panied by one of the fathers. The cardinal was not a little 
distressed on hearing the sad and true state of things. 
He grieved over it; but he thought that it was not then 
expedient to take any steps at Rome in the matter. 

Not satisfied with having submitted his will to that of the 
Pope, Alphonsus also wished to put himself under obedi¬ 
ence to the new superior, the president de Paul, and he 
made up his mind to go and live as a simple subject in the 
house at Benevento. When F. Villani, in order to get him 
to give up his determination, told him that as the rule had 
not been abandoned the Congregation would always con¬ 
tinue to exist in the kingdom, his answer was : “ Whatever 
be the state of things, the Pope no longer recognizes these 
houses as forming part of the institute.” One reason alone 
caused him to desist from his project, and that was the dis¬ 
turbance which such a step would cause at Naples at a 
time when the king was not on good terms with the court 
of Rome, and the consequent annoyance to the Pope likely 
to follow from it. However, he hastened to write to the 
new president, to assure him of his entire obedience, and 
of his readiness to repair to whichever house in the states 
he should point out to him, and he did not regain his 
tranquillity until after F. de Paul had commanded him 


504 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


to remain at Nocera, with the assurance that he should al¬ 
ways form part of the Congregation. 

The measures of the Pope were as a thunderbolt to the 
houses of the kingdom. Many of the subjects retired into 
the houses of the states. Those who had the most respect 
for Alphonsus went to ask his advice, but received no other 
answer than this: “Obey the Pope.” Some, without re¬ 
gard to him, abandoned him without even so much as 
previously warning him of it, and there were others who 
made shipwreck in the storm and returned to the world 
again. So that on this more than on any other occasion, 
was fulfilled in regard to the children of the holy founder 
what our Saviour said to the apostles after the last supper: 
“ Behold satan has desired to have you that he may sift you 
as wheat.” In all this Alphonsus was insensible to his 
own humiliation, and only thought of the desolation of his 
disunited children ; what distressed him the most was the 
displeasure which this afflicting separation caused to the 
sovereign Pontiff, and the cruel thought that he himself had 
fallen into disgrace with him, though he hoped always that 
he would be able to inform him of all in due time and to 
regain his favor. In his distress he had again recourse to 
the protection of Cardinal Banditi, begging him to repre¬ 
sent to the Pope the serious difficulties of his position, as 
well as that of so many of his children who were deprived 
of his favor. He himself composed an abridged history of 
the vexatious vicissitudes which had agitated the poor Con¬ 
gregation from its very beginning, and he sent this memo¬ 
rial to his Eminence, that he might confirm it and remit it 
to the Pope. To this recital, he added a statement of all 
the good that his missionaries had done in the two king¬ 
doms of Naples and Sicily, in which every year six or seven 
companies of them gave upwards of fifty missions within 
the space of eight months. He caused a novena to be 
made at Nocera by the whole community for the good suc¬ 
cess of this letter; he also sent to Naples to have a novena 
begun by the capuchins of St. Francis, and caused a mass 
to be sung in every house in the kingdom. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 505 

The cardinal signed this letter and sent it as if it came 
from himself; but as truth approached the pontifical 
throne, calumny strove to repel it. When the procurator 
heard that the letter had been handed to the Sacred Con¬ 
gregation, he was filled with fresh fury, and invented a 
thousand falsehoods to render Alphonsus more and more 
odious. When Alphonsus saw that his hopes were again 
disappointed, he wrote again to the cardinal, and also to 
the president de Paul, to know what he should do in these 
circumstances, (when every communication with Rome was 
forbidden without the previous authorization of the cham¬ 
ber and the king,) in order to satisfy the Pope, and obtain 
again the faculties and the privileges necessary to the good 
success of the missions, of which they were deprived in the 
kingdom by thedecree of separation. During all these severe 
trials Alphonsus always behaved admirably, never putting 
his own interpretation on the will of the Pope. Several of the 
fathers said : “If the Pope speaks of those who have aban¬ 
doned the rule, how can we, who have always observed it, be 
of the numberof those whom he has condemned.” The argu¬ 
ment was plausible, and it was assented to by the bishop of 
Troy, and Mgr. San Severino, the king’s confessor, but Al¬ 
phonsus wished for unconditional submission. “It is not for 
us to judge,” he several times said, “we cannot judge the 
Pope in our own cause; let us humbly bow our heads in 
submission. If the Pope has cast us down by one decree, 
he can raise us up by another; we must obey, and not put 
interpretations of our own on what he does.” Mgr. Ca- 
rafa, when one of the fathers complained to him at Rome of 
having been so unjustly deprived of the favor of the Holy 
See, said : “ But what has he done to you ? The Pope did 
not, and could not have you in view:” and on another 
occasion, to two other fathers : “ You are theologians; how 
could that touch you?” Relying upon his name, several 
of the fathers wished to take advantage of these answers; but 
Alphonsus never would listen to them. “ Mgr. Carafa’s 
words prove nothing,” said he, “those of the Pope alone 
are those which we ought to attend to.” He was chiefly 
43 


506 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


distressed, because the privation of pontifical favors in 
regard to the exercises of the missions acted to the injury 
of souls. “At Rome,” he wrote to the president de Paul, 
“they endeavor to make me hope that the Pope thinks of 
restoring to me the office of superior-general; but the blow 
which has struck me is not that; it is the loss of faculties 
for the missions, of those faculties without which we can 
be of but little assistance to souls.” He then went on to 
commission him to use his influence to regain them, and 
he also begged F. Cajone to have the kindness to go to 
Rome to arrange this affair. However, though things were 
in such a state, Alphonsus did not neglect the missions. 
“ We have not ceased to labor for the good of souls in the 
kingdom,” he wrote to Cardinal Banditi on the 15th of 
January 1781, “ we have given a great many missions. 
That of Foggia may be counted as four, for it will last 
a month and a half; that of Nola will soon take place, and 
will continue for a month ; similar ones will also be given 
at Nocera and elsewhere.” 

Whilst the servant of God thus manifested such earnest 
solicitude for the work of the missions, the affairs of the 
Congregation grew daily worse and worse ; thanks to the 
calumnies of the procurator. Alphonsus and his mission¬ 
aries were now only looked upon in many places as a re¬ 
proach among men, and as loaded with the indignation 
and the censures of the Holy See. Several bishops took 
them for schismatics, and refused their missions, and if the 
priests or the people asked to have them, they were refused. 
Alphonsus’ only consolation in the midst of so many trou¬ 
bles and humiliations consisted in meditating on the passion 
of Jesus Christ, or on the truths of eternity, and in reading 
over and over again the life of St. Joseph Calasanotius, the 
founder of the regular Clerics of the Pious Schools, whose 
old age had also been afflicted by a similar cruel persecu¬ 
tion from three of his subjects. Except when he spoke to 
the fathers what it was necessary to say, he maintained 
continual silence, and kept himself closely united to God. 
His sight being much weakened, he was to be seen for 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


507 


hours together with his forehead almost resting on his book. 
He adored the will of God in that of the Pope, and did all 
he could to prevent the smallest complaint being uttered 
against it, and was still more anxious that nothing should 
be done to cause him the slightest displeasure. On hear¬ 
ing that several of the fathers thought of soliciting the king’s 
protection, and fearing that that would occasion trouble 
between the courts of Rome and of Naples, he entreated 
the vicar-general, F. Corrado, expressly to forbid it. 


CHAPTER XXXIV. 

Unavailing efforts of Alphonsus to bring about a re-union 
between the houses of the Pontifical States and those of the 
Kingdom. Signs of Alphonsus ’ approaching dissolution. 
His zeal for the salvation of souls continues unabated. 

A MIDST this thick gloom, a ray appeared to console Al- 
phonsus and his children. He remembered the promise 
of the king to recompense the services of his missionaries, 
whom he had appointed to publish the jubilee in 1779. 
He determined to ask that it might be made lawful for the 
subjects of the Congregation to make an oath to God to 
lead a life in community according to holy poverty, and to 
remain in the Congregation until death. He came to this 
conclusion because the grand-almoner would not allow of 
vows; and Innocent II having in 1664, (in the case of the 
clerics ofSt. Joseph) commuted the vows of poverty, chastity 
and obedience into so many oaths, he thought that his plan 
would be approved by the Sacred Congregation and the Pope, 
and that thus there would no longer be an obstacle to a re¬ 
union, and the consequent enjoyment of the favors and pri¬ 
vileges dependant upon it. When the president de Paul 
was informed of this project, he entered warmly into it, 
thinking that if the king should grant the favor, the troubles 


508 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


would be ended and a re-union brought about. But whilst 
Alphonsus thus made use of human measures, he grounded 
again all his hopes in prayer. Amongst other things, he 
ordered that the Blessed Sacrament should be exposed in 
each house for the adoration of the community, every even¬ 
ing for nine days, and that various prayers should then be 
recited. All the members, besides, adopted a spirit of 
penance; many masses were celebrated for this intention, 
and large alms were distributed among the poor. He then 
;again had recourse to his old friend the Marquis of Marco, 
who laid the petition before the king and supported it. 
The king graciously granted all that was asked for. “ His 
Majesty,” the marquis replied on the 24th of February 1781, 
- :i is full of gratitude for the indefatigable labors of your 
missionaries, and the success they have obtained in the 
publication of the jubilee, and so he has deigned to grant 
you all the favors you have asked for. He therefore per¬ 
mits, 1st, the missionaries of your institute to make the 
oaths of a life in common and of poverty ; 2dly, that the said 
missionaries may take the oath of perseverance in the Con¬ 
gregation, from which oath they may be dispensed by the 
superior-general for lawful reasons; 3dly, he also consents 
that the missionaries may ask for some assistance from 
their friends and benefactors in the time of the wheat and 
olive harvest.” 

These tidings filled Alphonsus with joy; he fancied that 
every thing was now put to rights. Considering it a mira¬ 
cle of the Blessed Virgin Mary that he had obtained this 
favor, he exhorted all, in notifying it to all the houses, to 
offer up, before the Blessed Sacrament during its exposition, 
fervent thanksgiving for this blessing to Almighty God 
and to the Blessed Virgin. Great was the joy in all the 
houses, as well as among the friends of the Congregation; 
the inhabitants around Iliceto even made bonfires in re¬ 
joicing. 

As soon as the decree was published, Alphonsus sent a 
copy of it to Cardinal Zelada, (who presided over the Sacred 
Congregation as prefect, on account of the death of Cardi- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 509 

nal Caracciolo,) again explaining to him how he had been 
deceived, and showing that the wound was healed through 
the oaths, so that there was no longer any obstacle to the 
re-union so much wished for on both sides. He wrote also 
to the procurator himself to entreat him to co-operate for 
this re-union, or at least not to oppose it. “I pray your 
Reverence to remember,” he said, “ that if you persevere 
in wishing for the separation, and obtain what you wish, 
you will, as I believe, spend the remainder of your days in 
sorrow, especially when you shall see that it is too late to 
remedy it. I entreat you by the love of God, to consider 
this point at the foot of the crucifix.” Alphonsus also once 
more begged Cardinal Banditi to speak favorably for 
him to the Holy Father. Every thing seemed to foretell a 
happy termination of affairs, but the iniquity of the procu¬ 
rator, who had been insensible to the entreaties of Alphon¬ 
sus, triumphed once more. “ Mgr. Liguori’s pretensions 
are too numerous,” he said, on presenting himself before 
the Sacred Congregation, “he wants to act as Pope, or at 
least not to take any notice of the Pope. The oaths are 
another alteration he wishes to make in the rule. But be¬ 
sides this, the rule is altered from one end to the other. 
We wish to have the rule of Benedict XIV, and not the re¬ 
form of Mgr. Liguori.” He took special care to make his 
passion appear like zeal, and to render Alphonsus inexcusa¬ 
ble in the eyes of the cardinals; and taking advantage also 
of the misunderstanding between the two courts, which 
prevented Alphonsus from pleading his cause before the 
Sacred Congregation, he had no difficulty in dissuading 
the cardinals from all measures of conciliation. Car¬ 
dinal Zelada, who had an extreme veneration for our 
Saint, and knew his inviolable attachment to the Holy See 
as well as his innocence, proposed to the Sacred Congre¬ 
gation, that they should respect his person and make some 
arrangement in favor of re-union ; but he was alone in this 
proposition, and all the other cardinals, especially Cardinal 
Ghilini, the reporter of the cause, were of a contrary mind. 
The Pope was again misinformed, and, beset by the procu- 
43* 


.510 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


rator, far from granting any thing, he confirmed all the 
previous decisions. When Alphonsus heard of it, he said : 
“ I wish for what God wills. The will of God makes all 
things straight.” Although his affliction on hearing of his 
fresh defeat at Rome was very great, Alphonsus did not 
despair of regaining the favor of the Pope. He begged F. 
Corrado to go to Benevento, there to meet the president de 
Paul, in order that they might consult together as to the 
measures to be adopted to effect the re-union. 

On the 3d of April, the fathers Corrado and Constance, 
of Nocera, F. Augustin, the rector of Caposele, F. Carmin, 
the rector of St. Angelo, and F. Tannoja, of Iliceto, ar¬ 
rived nearly at the very same hour at Benevento. The 
meeting was providential, for they had not preconcerted it. 
They were all of one mind, and settled on the measures to 
be adopted for the re-union with the F. president. Amongst 
other things, it was decided that two provinces should be 
established, and that that of the states should be under his 
direction; they also determined on sending two fathers to 
Rome, to settle this matter with the Pope. But the pro¬ 
curator, irritated at this pacific interview, and dissatisfied 
with the F. president, threatened to upset every thing in 
the kingdom and in the states. The hatred he had con¬ 
ceived against Alphonsus increased day by day. He swore 
that he would never permit a re-union to take place: “ This 
is a satisfaction,” said he, “which Mgr. Liguori and his 
adherents will never obtain from me.” “ If Mgr. Liguori 
had me in his power,” he said on another occasion, “he 
would ruin me outright.” Thus fear of some mischance 
happening to himself had entered the heart of this unhappy 
man, and together with his hatred against Alphonsus, 
made him act as if he were quite desperate, and all the 
(hopes of Alphonsus and of all the other fathers were frus¬ 
trated again. 

After Easter, the Pope was to go to the Pontine Marshes ; 
hence Alphonsus begged Cardinal Banditi to go therein 
person, in order that he might see his Holiness, and inform 
him of the real state of things. He made the same request to 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


511 


Mgr. Bergame, the bishop of Gaeta. But the mind of Pius 
VI was quite prejudiced against Alphonsus and his houses. 
To all they said, he only answered: “Let them then come 
and state all that has been done, for it is not well to change 
the rule of a religious Congregation without the sanction 
of the Holy See ;” and, “ 1 know that Alphonsus is a saint, 
and that he has hitherto been obedient to the Holy See; 
but on this occasion he has not adopted the same course:” 
and again, “Let them come and tell me of all that has 
been done with sincerity.” In consequence of this, Al¬ 
phonsus at the end of May sent two fathers to Rome, or¬ 
dering at the same time prayers and masses to be said, and 
exhorting the houses of Benevento and St. Angelo to co¬ 
operate in furthering the success of this matter. 

In the midst of these troubles, Alphonsus had one more 
source of distress. Through his love of holy poverty he 
had made a vow to depend on the local superior, just like 
any other subject; but the rectors in the kingdom not be¬ 
ing at this time lawful superiors of the houses, he did not 
know to whom to apply, and was continually afraid of 
sinning against his vow. He had therefore charged one of 
the fathers who had been sent to Rome to speak about it 
to the Pope—to inform him of his uneasiness, and to en¬ 
treat his Holiness to cause him, in all his doubts, to submit 
to the will of the superior or his confessor. The father did 
not apply to the Pope, but to the cardinal grand-peniten¬ 
tiary, who was filled with admiration at the saint’s delicacy, 
and at the vow he had made in regard to poverty, which 
was so new a thing in a superior. “Let him submit to his 
confessor,” was the answer of the cardinal. 

The proceedings at Rome in regard to the re-union had 
not the fortunate results which had been expected. The 
procurator again managed so, that all that had been done 
at Benevento and the negotiations with the Pope at the 
Pontine Marshes came to nought. The following answer 
to the petition of Alphonsus was given on the 22d of June : 
“Let the procurator-general of the Congregation present 
at court be heard.” The fathers stated all the reasons 


512 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


which were in their favor, and the procurator also presented 
his statement on the 9th of July. His words had little in 
them calculated to produce conviction, but there was such 
a prejudice in his favor that he once more gained his cause; 
and in the report which was presented to the Holy Father, 
quite the contrary was asserted of that which he had 
heard from Cardinal Banditi and Mgr. Bergame, so that 
his dissatisfaction with those in the kingdom was con¬ 
verted into indignation. He therefore sent them an answer 
on the 24th of August 1781, to this effect: “ Standum 
in decisis per Sanctissimum sub die 13 Septeinbris 1780;” 
that is, “let all previous decisions stand ;” and as a double 
victory for the procurator, it was added: “ Et amplius 
non admiitantur preces, “ and let no farther petitions 
be received.” This confirmation of the preceding 
dispositions was a final triumph to the procurator’s 
unceasing endeavors to humble and grieve Alphonsus by 
calumniating him personally and destroying his work. 
“ He has failed as to his canonization,” he exultingly re¬ 
peated over and over again, to the disgust of the bishop of 
Narni, to whom he said it. 

The fathers returned from Rome in November; when 
Alphonsus heard of the decision which had been adopted, 
he exclaimed, with all the calmness of perfect resignation : 
“ For six months I have asked for nothing from God but 
that his will might be accomplished. Lord ! I only will 
what thou wiliest.” Thus did he make a perfect holocaust 
to God of that work which he had maintained for forty 
years amidst numberless difficulties, and for which he had 
sacrificed his repose, his honor, and his reputation. He 
adored the unfathomable judgments of God, by which he, 
who had in so many ways manifested his zeal, sub¬ 
mission, and respect towards the Head of the Church, should 
nevertheless be looked upon by him with an eye of severity, 
and treated with rigor. It is true, that when they proceeded 
to the examination of his virtues in the Sacred Congrega¬ 
tion of rites with that scrupulous exactness always practised 
there, the calumnies were discovered, and his innocence 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


513 


was brought to light. It is true, that when the Holy Father 
was thus at last undeceived, he wept at having grieved a 
saint, and did not hesitate to declare in a solemn decree of 
the 29th of April 1796, that Alphonsus had always been 
most submissive towards the Holy See, “as his words, his 
actions, and his writings have often testified.” It is true, 
that the same Holy Father even imposed perpetual silence 
on this subject, so that during the course of the process of 
the canonization no farther allusion to the faults of which 
he had been supposed to be guilty could be made. But 
all this happened after his death. God willed that he should 
die without the satisfaction of seeing his innocence brought 
to light, and of being justified in the eyes of the world. 

It was at this time that the Pope established a house of the 
missionaries of the Congregation in Rome in the Church 
of St. Julian, not far from that of St. Mary Major; and not 
satisfied with granting them this favor, Pius VI gave them 
fresh proofs of his esteem and protection, by founding two 
houses at Gubbio and Spello, in the diocese of Foligno, in 
order to supply the necessities of his states. The F. presi¬ 
dent de Paul and those of Rome informed Alphonsus of 
this. So far from remembering his own humiliations, he 
experienced the greatest joy at these tidings, and although 
he had before been opposed to an establishment in Rome, 
now that the will of the Pope was plainly expressed on the 
subject, he testified as much satisfaction as if it had been 
his own work, and as if he had been recognised as superior. 
He wrote several letters of congratulation to those in the 
states, testifying how much he rejoiced at their progress, as 
well as at the flourishing state of their noviciate. “ I hope,” 
he said in one addressed to the F. president, “ that God 
will make use of you to increase his glory, and I will not 
cease to pray to him for this end. I thank you for the Ave 
Maria which you recite every evening for me; apply it 
specially for a happy death.” He finished by offering some 
advice suggested by his zeal, as to the importance of the 
sermon on prayer and that on the Blessed Virgin, in the 
missions, no less than on all other occasions. 


514 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


Those at Rome, whilst rejoicing at the opening of the 
two new houses, wrote word to Alphonsus that the mis¬ 
sionaries had also been demanded at Ravenna. “ Our bro¬ 
thers in the states,” he said thereupon, “are well pleased, 
because they have got a new field of action. I am glad 
that they are to have one at Ravenna; may they do 
that which God wills; but you will see that Ravenna will 
not take root. To conclude, I shall find pleasure at seeing 
the progress of the affair.” That which he predicted came 
true; all the negotiations as to obtaining Ravenna were 
useless.” 

All this was very consoling to the heart of Al¬ 
phonsus, but it could not but increase the sorrow he felt at 
seeing the houses of the kingdom cut off from the 
Congregation. That this sorrow filled his heart entirely, 
might be gathered from what he uttered during the delirium 
of a fever, brought on by a vomiting of blood caused 
probably by so many domestic misfortunes. “ What,” said 
he, “ are we not of the Congregation of the Most Holy Re¬ 
deemer? Do we not acknowledge the rule of Pope Bene¬ 
dict XIV? If we submit to the rule of the Pope, why are 
we out of the Congregation ?” At other times he said: 
“ We have the rule of the Pope, we have taken the vows 
and we keep to them; therefore why do we not belong 
to the Congregation ?” and again : “ Perhaps they doubt 
whether we do observe this rule, and this is why we are now 
rejected; God wills it to be thus, let us have patience!” 
As his state excited great compassion, he was told, in order 
to calm him, that they were really Redemptorists; he 
then became silent and tranquil. It was observed that 
during these deliriums he never uttered a word indicative 
of the slightest dissatisfaction at what the Pope had done, 
or against any one whatever. 

During his recovery, several of the fathers, on their re¬ 
turn from a mission, went to get his blessing; Alphonsus 
who had always this same idea before his mind, said on 
seeing them: “ I cannot make out how it can be said that 
we do not belong to the Congregation of Redemptorists* 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


515 


since >we receive the rule of Benedict XIV, and this rule 
has been always kept by us, and is so still.” “There can 
be no doubt on the subject,” responded one of the fathers, 
“ both the Pope and the king designate your lordship as its 
founder.” “ I do not wish to be spoken of any more in 
this world,” he replied, “but I wish it to be known that 
the rule which is observed by us is the very one which we 
received from the Pope, and from which we have never de¬ 
parted.” On another occasion, having been told that it 
would always be acknowledged that the Congregation ex¬ 
isted in the kingdom, and that the rule which M^r. Lioruori 
received from the Pope was observed there, he replied with 
agitation: “What does my name signify? what I care 
about is that it should be known that we are subject to the 
Pope. Let us bless God for all that he has done.” 

However deplorable was his situation, Alphonsus always 
rose above his misfortunes, and never ceased to hope for 
happier days for the Congregation. Once when they tried 
to persuade him that it would never be re-established again 
as before, he answered : “ I assure you that God willed and 
still wills that the Congregation shall subsist in the king- 
dom ; I founded it for the kingdom, and it is for that God 
has given me the vocation.” He even, however he might 
be cast down himself, unceasingly inspired the fathers with 
fresh courage, by the assurance that they should one day be 
re-united again, and that the Pope would restore his favor 
to them. “Do not lose courage,” said he, “Lazarus arose 
on the fourth day; be faithful towards God, who can do all 
things; let us pray and be resigned.” 

In the year 1783, it pleased the Lord partially to console 
his servant, by the restoration of the privileges and favors for 
the work of the missions. When the houses of the king¬ 
dom were deprived of the favor of the Pope, the bishops 
shared in their sorrow. They were alarmed at seeing them¬ 
selves deprived of a congregation of workmen who took 
such a part in their solicitude, and so most of them felt it 
a duty to represent Alphonsus’ innocence to the Pope, to 
Cardinal Zelada, or to Mgr. Carafa, and to tell them the 


516 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


sad consequences which would result to their dioceses if 
His Holiness had not the clemency to restore these favors 
to the missionaries of the kingdom as before. Mgr. the 
pro-nuncio also, who had been charged to take secret in¬ 
formation, (though he had been very slow in acquitting 
himself of his office, through an excess of prudence,) had 
presented his report to the Sacred Congregation on the 
17th of October 1782. After having represented the pain¬ 
ful position of the Congregation, which was in imminent 
danger of being suppressed, he manifested the deceit ofwhich 
Alphonsus had been the victim, and clearly exposed his 
entire innocence. “ I believe,” said he, “ that Mgr. Liguori 
acted in such a manner that his conduct does not deserve 
the censure which the plaintiffs belonging to the houses of 
the states have attempted to cast upon it; it must therefore 
be worthy of approbation.” He finally represented that 
the preservation of the missionaries was indispensable to 
the kingdom and to the welfare of its population ; and that 
several bishops and other respectable persons had assured 
him of the zeal and utility of this Congregation. “ I think 
it my duty,” concluded he, “to beg and implore the kind 
interest of their Eminences the Cardinals, in favor of the 
re-establishment of union and harmony in this Congrega¬ 
tion, that it may continue to do the good for which it was 
instituted by Mgr. Liguori, and which has caused it to 
merit the protection of the sovereign.” 

This report of the pro-nuncio, and the petitions of so 
many bishops, could not fail to make an impression on the 
heart of Pius VI. When therefore, Alphonsus himself, 
strong in his innocence and confiding in the clemency of 
the Pope, addressed a petition to him to obtain the restora¬ 
tion of the favors and privileges, the privation of which had 
caused him the most distress on account of the loss result¬ 
ing to souls, His Holiness at once granted what he prayed 
for. The petition was as follows: 

“ Most Holy Father: Mgr. Alphonso Maria Liguori pros¬ 
trates himself at the feet of your Holiness, and humbly en¬ 
treats you to grant to his missionaries all the graces, facul- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


517 


ties and privileges conceded by the Holy See to the 
Venerable Congregation of Redemptorists in the Pontifical 
states,” &c. 

This petition Alphonsus addressed to the Pope in March 
1783, and on the 4th of April following, the Holy Father 
granted to Alphonsus and the present and future members 
of his Congregation, all the indulgences and spiritual favors 
which the Redemptorist missionaries in his states enjoyed 
during mission time, and in all other exercises of their 
ministry. This rescript wounded the very heart of the pro¬ 
curator. Not knowing how else to thwart this favorable 
decision, he forged a petition under the name of one of the 
fathers of the kingdom, and presented it himself to the 
Pope. It contained several questions, and a prayer that 
the graces conferred should be specified. By this means 
he hoped considerably to reduce those powers and favors; 
but this time his intrigue failed, and he was told that the 
matter did not admit of explanation. Shortly after this, 
God granted Alphonsus another consolation, viz: that of 
seeing hitnself exculpated before the royal council, and 
justified from all the calumnies and accusations with which 
the procurator-advocate and the other adversaries of the 
Conorreoration had loaded him. The senators declared the 
missionaries free from all contravention of the royal de¬ 
crees, which had been the most serious point; and as to 
the contested property claimed by Baron Sarnelli, after 
having repeatedly heard the respective advocates, they all 
with one accord agreed to represent to the king that there 
was no ground for admitting the pretensions of the baron. 
The royal council in consequence addressed to the king 
on the 4th of February 1784, a report, by which they ac¬ 
quitted the missionaries of all the charges against them; and 
a royal decree approved of this decision, on the 10th of April 
of the same year, after the tribunals at Naples had been 
occupied about these affairs for no less than nineteen years. 

These two favors on the part of the Pope and the king, 
following one another so closely, filled Alphonsus’ heart 
with unspeakable joy, and raised up the courage of his 
44 


518 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


desolate children. He desired that special thanksgivings 
should be offered to God and to the Blessed Virgin in all 
the houses for what he called a great miracle; and a mira¬ 
cle in truth it was, but it was the fruit of the prayers and 
penances of this great servant of God, and his unlimited 
confidence in the protection of Mary. 

When matters were thus tranquillized, various things hap¬ 
pened which were calculated to divide the houses of the 
kingdom from those of Sicily, and these latter again from 
those of the states. A chapter was convoked on the 15th 
of October 1783. in the house of Scifelli, with the consent 
of the Pope, and the F. president de Paul was elected rec¬ 
tor-major. Those in Sicily declared against those in the 
kingdom, and nominated F. D. Blasucci rector-major for 
themselves. Thus all hope of reconciliation was entirely 
lost. Those in the kingdom, on the other hand, fearing 
that they would lose their principal support by the death of 
Alphonsus, also held a chapter in the same month at Cio- 
rani, and elected F. Villani as the coadjutor and future 
successor of Alphonsus. In the midst of all these new 
difficulties, Alphonsus never lost the hope of seeing the 
Congregation re-established under one head; he often re¬ 
peated on different occasions : “Act uprightly towards God, 
and God will not abandon the Congregation; matters will 
be settled after my death.” One day he said to one of the 
fathers: “I should have liked to have seen things settled 
before my death; I have asked for it, and continue to ask 
for it of the Blessed Virgin; but it is not the will of 
God. Things will be arranged, but that will be after my 
death.” 

What he had predicted came to pass four years after he 
had gone to receive his reward in heaven, through the very 
orders of Pius VI, in concert with King Ferdinand IV. 
The latter by an edict of the 29th of October 1790, decreed 
that the missionaries in the kingdom should observe the 
rule of Benedict -XIV, and that their houses should be re¬ 
united to those in the states. Pius VI, on his side, restored 
all his favors to them on the 5th of August 1791, and wished 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


519 


that after the re-union one rector-major should be elected 
by common consent in a general chapter. 

When things were arranged as we have seen above, there 
were a great many subjects who repented of their former 
conduct, and addressed repeated petitions to be allowed to 
return to the kingdom, and two of them in particular, who 
had been the most obstinate in maintaining the separation, 
protested that they wished to return and were content to 
take the lowest place. They met with so many imitators, 
that the president, on seeing that his houses were becoming 
depopulated, asked the Pope if he could in conscience per¬ 
mit these transmigrations, and received a negative answer. 
This last verdict was as the dregs of the bitter chalice which 
Alphonsus had to drain ; though he received it with the most 
perfect resignation. “If the Pope thinks so,” said he, “I 
also wish it. The holy will of God turns all that is bitter 
into sweetness; the will of the Pope is the will of God.” 

But as God is not accustomed to leave his servants for a 
length of time in tribulation without any consolation, so lie 
did not fail to console Alphonsus at this time. Two distin¬ 
guished subjects of Germany, John Clement Hofbauer and 
Francis Hubei, who came from Vienna, were admitted into 
the Congreo-ation at Rome as novices. What had made them 
decide to join the Congregation, was the edifying conduct of 
its missionaries, and especially the reputation of its founder, 
Mgr. Liguori, well known in Germany for his sanctity 
and his learning. These good Germans burned with a holy 
zeal, and ardently wished to see a house of the Congrega¬ 
tion established in Vienna. The ardor of their zeal was so 
great that they could perceive no difficulties in the way, 
and looked upon the thing as if already accomplished. 
This projected German house was laughed at amongst the 
fathers. But when Alphonsus heard of the pious object of 
the fervent novices he thought differently, and it caused 
him extreme joy: “God,” said he, “will not fail to spread 
his glory in that country by their means. The suppres¬ 
sion of the Jesuits has caused those populations to be 
nearly abandoned. The missions, however, ought not to be 


520 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


like ours; instructions are more useful there than sermons, 
as the people are living amidst Lutherans and Calvinists. 
At the commencement they should be made to say the 
Credo, and then the faithful should be prepared to abandon 
sin ; these good priests will do good, but they will lequire 
greater lights than they have. I would write to them, but 
God does not will that I should have any thing to do with 
it. My Jesus! humble me more and more, and reap there¬ 
from thy glory.” 

Partly in consequence of the last decree of the Pope, 
and partly because he had not yet felt it right to acknow¬ 
ledge the Congregation in the kingdom as forming an ec¬ 
clesiastical body, in proportion as the houses in the states 
became more flourishing, those in the kingdom seemed to 
decay. Whilst Alphonsus was consoled at seeing the pros¬ 
perity of the former, he could not see the others languish¬ 
ing and in lack of subjects without sorrow; and this sorrow 
was increased by their great poverty. F. Villani repre¬ 
sented to him that the house of Iliceto was no longer capa¬ 
ble of maintaining the students, and that the other houses 
being in poverty and distress could not give any assistance. 
u Now,” at last said Alphousus sighing, “ all our houses 
are falling into ruin. Ah! Lord, thy will be done, let the 
consequences be wdiat they may.” 

Alphonsus’ humiliation and that of his houses was not 
enough to satisfy the hatred of the procurator. The saint’s 
kind way of acting towards him did not avail to soften his 
heart; in order to humble and distress Alphonsus still more, 
he asked the Holy Father to specify in a brief the number 
and the names of the true houses of the Redemptorists. 
He succeeded, and in a special brief of the 17th of Decem¬ 
ber 1784, the Pope declared that the only houses of the 
Congregation of the Most Ploly Redeemer were those 
of Benevento, of St. Angelo, of Scifelii and Frosinone, 
of Spello and of Gubbio, and also the hospice at Rome 
near the church of St. Julian. At the solicitation of the 
procurator, His Holiness also declared that the house of St. 
Julian should be regarded as the general and pricipal house 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 521 

of the whole Congregation. The procurator had had some¬ 
thing still further in view in this petition. He was pained at 
seeing the number of graces and privileges which the Pope 
had restored to Alphonsus. He determined on taking the 
cardinal whose office it was to draw up the brief by sur¬ 
prise, and, presenting him all the decrees previously issued 
against the houses in the kingdom, he wished to cause him 
to insert all that they contained to their disadvantage in 
this last one, that is to say, that the houses in the states 
were confirmed in the possession of the favors of the Holy 
See, and those of the kingdom were deprived of them as 
refractory. He had already written to inform a great many 
friends of it, and had represented those in the kingdom 
as having become objects of the abomination and anathemas 
of the Holy See ; but some how or other he got afraid of be¬ 
ing discovered, and gave up this piece of deceit. Never¬ 
theless he did not cease to try to make people believe that 
Alphonsus was imbecile, and even that he was out of his 
mind. “ Poor old man,” he answered to a prelate who 
being ignorant of his sentiments asked him how Alphonsus 
was, “ he is in a pitiable state ; his mind is so impaired that 
he is no longer a man but a child; and what is worse he 
falls into extravagances. When he is spoken to about the 
Pope and the affairs of the Church, he replies with emphasis, 
that the Pope is the Pope, and the Church is the Church; 
in a word, he has so lost his senses that he has become 
quite a child.” He even went so far as to wish to deprive 
Alphonsus of the title of founder of his Congregation ; and 
not satisfied with words and false assertions, he tried to in¬ 
troduce into the Congregation of Rites the cause of the 
canonization of Bishop Falcoja, (who had died in the odor 
of sanctity and had also worked miracles,) hoping to be 
able during the proceedings to secure the glory of founder 
to this servant of God, who had been the chief adviser of 
Alphonsus at the time of the foundation. Such was the 
conduct of Alphonsus’ persecutor, and his sentiments were 
not changed whilst the saint lived. His hatred even fol¬ 
lowed him beyond the tomb; at the very time when God 
44* 


522 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


glorified his servant’s sanctity by miracles, the implacable 
persecutor wished to prevent his canonization, but his 
odious conduct excited the indignation of the whole court 
of Rome against him. Pius VI perceived, but too late, the 
hypocrisy of this impostor, who went so far as to seek to 
divide the cardinals and disquiet the Pope himself; how¬ 
ever, he was at length unmasked and seen through; he 
was forbidden to approach the Vatican any more, or to 
enter the Congregation of the bishops and regulars. This 
unhappy man’s change of fortune did not produce a change 
of heart or conduct. Alphonsus had predicted, on seeing 
his prosperity, that he would one day receive a great chas¬ 
tisement from the hands of God. In fact, he fell ill in the 
year 1801, and death overtook him suddenly, on the very day 
when the sons of Alphonsus celebrated the festival of the 
Most Holy Redeemer. He would not have any advice, for 
in his madness he fancied he was quite well, and when it 
was proposed to him to receive the viaticum, he answered 
that it was not necessary; there was scarcely time to ad¬ 
minister extreme unction to him before the agonies of 
death came upon him, and he died striking his hand vio¬ 
lently against the bed, a prey to all the torments of despair, 
without uttering a single word which could give reason 
for hope as to his eternal salvation. 

Some time before the fatal catastrophe of 1780, Alphon¬ 
sus was reduced, as we have seen, to a state of extreme 
weakness, and seemed to have arrived at his last moments, 
but after the blow which separated him from the greatest 
part of his children, we may say that his life was nothing 
but a prolonged death. Until this time he had never ceased 
to preach to the people every Saturday on the virtues of the 
Blessed Virgin, as also during the novenas before her feasts, 
and on the evening of Holy Thursday to describe the pas¬ 
sion of Jesus Christ to the people in a most touching man¬ 
ner. On all these occasions crowds hastened to hear him, 
and to gather, as they said, the last precious pearls which 
fell from the lips of the pious bishop. In order to put a 
check on this admirable zeal, which could not but shorten his 


LIFE OF ST. ALPMONSUS. 


523 


days, the express orders of the doctors and of his director, 
F. Villani, were necessary. But for all this he did not 
cease to take the greatest interest in all that concerned his 
missionaries and their labors; his solicitude appeared even 
to redouble itself with the increase of his afflictions. We 
have seen proofs of this above. When the missionaries came 
home, he received them with open arms, and his delight was 
to hear them give the recital of the good they had done, and 
of any extraordinary conversions. “And I!” he exclaimed 
in tears on one such occasion, “ what do I ? I am useless, 
nay, I am even a burthen to the Congregation.” “ The 
others labor,” replied one of the fathers, “ and as you are 
their founder, you take part in their labors.” “Founder, 
founder!” he replied with vivacity, “ what am I but a poor 
miserable creature! I can only do evil; it is God who 
has founded the Congregation. God alone is its founder, 
and I have only been a worthless instrument in his hands.” 
Admirable humility united to such an ardent zeal! The 
same interest he took in the general welfare of the Church. 
When any person came to see him from Naples or else¬ 
where, he forgot all his pains to inquire into the state of 
religious affairs in all Catholic countries. He was incon¬ 
solable when he heard that religion was despised, or 
the Church persecuted, or morals corrupt. “ Unhappy 
Naples,” he one day said on hearing of the disorders of 
this capital: “The Lord whom thou hast offended will not 
forget to punish thee. God will not bear for ever, and if 
his mercy is disdained, it is changed into malediction.” 
He often offered himself up in sacrifice to stay the anger of 
the Lord. He felt such keen sorrow when the misfortunes 
of the day were spoken of, that F. Villani was obliged to 
forbid the fathers to speak to him of such subjects, espe¬ 
cially of the disagreement between the Pope and the states. 

One of his principal occupations was to read those au¬ 
thors who avenged^the cause of religion and undertook its 
defence, thanking God for the zeal with which he inspired 
them, as also for having caused him to be born in the faith 
and in the pale of the Church, in Europe, and in that part 


524 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


of Europe which is the centre of faith. He was deeply 
grieved when he heard of any who were disposed to become 
infidels, and his distress at hearing of the triumph of the 
zealous Jansenists, as he called them, was still greater. But 
not less great was his joy on hearing that the Jesuits were es¬ 
tablished in Prussia and Russia, and he did not cease to offer 
up thanksgivings to God for it, as well as to magnify the 
hospitality of the Empress Catherine. “ People assert 
that they are schismatics,” said he, “but they talk non¬ 
sense. I know that the Pope recognizes them as members 
of the Church, and protects them. Let us pray to God for 
these holy religious, because their institute is a work which 
is calculated to promote the good of souls and that of the 
Church also. Schismatic! What does that mean? Pope 
Ganganelli was God’s instrument to humble them, and Pius 
VI is also God’s instrument to raise them up. It is God 
who kills, and brings to life again; let us pray to him, and 
he will not fail to bless them.” 

He heard that a religious of a strict order, who was 
imbued with the spirit of Anthony Arnauld, was de¬ 
priving the faithful of holy communion, even for the 
space of several years, on the specious pretext of want of 
sufficient advancement in perfection; and that he taught 
his doctrine publicly, and was supported by others, and 
that he had won over several priests and confessors to his 
side. This news not only made him shed tears but enkin¬ 
dled also his zeal, and as he was unable to do any thing to 
remedy this himself, he did all in his power to get his mis¬ 
sionaries to disabuse those who had been thus deceived, 
especially the confessors; he even wished that the Arch¬ 
bishop of Amalfi, in whose diocese this had happened, 
should be warned on the subject in his name. 

Although Alphonsus’ zeal was fettered by his numerous 
infirmities, yet he did not remain entirely idle. When the 
spiritual exercises were given to the people in the house, he 
was in the habit of having himself carried to the church on 
the last day, that he might encourage the faithful to perse¬ 
vere in the grace of God. On one occasion, he determined 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


525 


to give his accustomed counsels, although he had been bled 
in the morning: he expatiated on the love of Jesus and 
Mary, and preached quite a sermon which lasted for an 
hour. At the end, he gave the benediction to the people 
with a large crucifix. The effort he made in this re-opened 
the wound, and the blood flowed in abundance whilst he 
gave the blessing. While retiring, as he did not perceive the 
accident, and it was not observed by those who supported 
him, all the way as he went to his own room was covered 
with blood. The faithful hastened to collect it, with reli¬ 
gious respect, striving to steep their handkerchiefs in it. 
There were some free-thinkers there, and two in particular, 
who were the sons of a notorious infidel, repented of their 
evil thoughts, and imitated the eager crowd, carrying home 
even the very earth which was reddened with the blood of 
our saint. He was also in the habit of sending for the se- 
culars or ecclesiastics who might be in retreat in the mo¬ 
nastery, and of going through some spiritual reading with 
them. He then tried to inspire them with piety and to con¬ 
firm them in their good resolutions, and he especially excited 
them to devotion towards the Blessed Sacrament and the 
Blessed Virgin : “ If all those who come here,” said he, 
“ only carry away a devotion to our Lady when they leave us, 
that will suffice to save them.” 

He yielded also sometimes, as we have already seen above, 
to the wishes of the nuns, who were always most eager to 
hear him. He went to the Convent of The Purity for the last 
time in the month of June 1781. He spoke to them of the 
detachment we should have in regard to earthly things, of 
the love we owe to Jesus Christ, and the filial trust we 
ought to have in the Most Holy Virgin. His sermon lasted 
for nearly two hours; but it seemed to these pious nuns as 
if but for a moment. When he left, they presented to him 
a nosegay of flowers, which he refused, till he was told that 
he could offer it to the Blessed Virgin, when he consented 
to accept it. 

At the time of the indulgences of the Portiuncula in the 
convent of the Poor Clares, he went there in order to gain 


526 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


them. The religious asked him to give them an exhortation, 
and he spoke to them at length and with great fervor, on 
love towards the Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed Virgin 
Mary, and especially extolled the religious vocation and 
the strict observance of rule. 

He was also anxious to maintain fervor among his own 
sons, and seized every occasion to exhort and encourage 
them, and never ceased to repeat and inculcate the maxims 
of the spiritual life and of perfection, as he had done 
with so much earnestness during his whole life. “It is 
certain that God wishes you to be saints;” he said one day 
to the young clerics who had come from Iliceto to Nocera 
to receive his blessing ; “ I recommend two things to you, 
obedience and poverty : obedience, were it even to the cook; 
obedience is that which preserves us ; he who wants obedi¬ 
ence is wanting as regards his duty to God, and God will drive 
him out of the Congregation ; I also recommend poverty to 
you, for it is that which unites us to God. I regard faults 
against obedience and poverty as capital offences.” Be¬ 
sides, as we have seen above, his infirm state did not pre¬ 
vent his holding the ordinary conference with the subjects 
of the house every Saturday. The last he gave was in the 
month of November 1780. 


CHAPTER XXXV. 


Alphonsus suffers great interior trials. The favors and 
graces by which God attested his sanctity. 

UCH were some of the exercises of the ardent zeal of 



kJ Alphonsus in his retreat at Nocera. But whilst he had 
the holiness of others so much at heart, his special labor was 
to sanctify himself. He was constantly engaged in medita¬ 
tion and reading, and he was specially occupied with the 
life of his advocate, St. Theresa, and with the actions of 
the first heroes of the reform of this saint; and when he 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


527 


came to any passage which he thought particularly worthy 
of attention, he communicated it to those who went to sit 
with him after supper, so jealously anxious was he, as he 
had been all his life, to turn every moment of time to profit, 
and never to lose one minute. Indeed, constancy and perse¬ 
verance were distinctive characteristics of our saint, no less 
than' a burning zeal for the good of souls. Thus he was 
always most constant and punctual in performing the exer¬ 
cises of the community and his private devotions, as well as 
in the observance of all the rules he was yet able to observe : 
“ I do not want great things,” he often said ; “ let them be 
little, provided they be but constant.” 

His greatest trial under his infirmities was the anxiety 
they might cause to others. If lie asked any one to do 
him some service, he made his request in the humblest 
terms. As he fancied that it was an inconvenience to the 
community for him to take his meals in his own room, he 
determined to take them with the others in the refectory, 
and would not yield to the reasons that were alleged 
against his so doing, till he was told that his slow way of 
eating would be inconvenient to the community. 

He went out in the carriage up to the year 1784, as the 
doctors, and much more the community, were most anxious 
to prolong his life. But on the 19th of September of this year, 
being then eighty-eight years old, an internal rupture took 
place, which got worse by the shaking of the carriage, and 
obliged him to be taken out of it and to have recourse to 
the charity of a poor person who received him into her 
house; he was placed on a bed, and remained there as if 
he were quite dead. The surgeons succeeded in replacing 
the intestines; but he was brought back to the house in a 
most alarming state. The doctors were convinced that 
he required some exercise, and ordered that he should 
go out in a sedan-chair. As soon as he heard of this, he 
found a thousand pretexts for dispensing with it; but as 
the rector told him that it was the doctor’s order, he con¬ 
sented. The day after the first essay, he opposed a second 
trial so much that the rector and the fathers united together 


528 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


in vain in endeavoring to persuade him to Juse it again. 
“What!” he said to them with tears, “must I be carried 
on the shoulders of these poor men ! The thought of this 
made the going out yesterday more painful than salutary.” 
The fathers replied that people of this sort were used to 
such labor, and that they gained their bread by it; but he 
testified so much repugnance on the subject, that the doc¬ 
tors, in order not to distress him, made him get a wheel¬ 
chair to go up and down the corridors. 

When he was thus freed from the necessity of going out 
in the carriage, he sent the horses to Naples to be sold, 
and on the 24th of September he wrote as follows to F. 
Hilary: “As for the horses I send you, I do not want to 
have any scruples about them : mention therefore that one 
of them suffers in the jaws, and cannot eat either hay or 
oats; the other, that is to say, the oldest of the two, suffers 
from giddiness, and throws himself on the ground from 
time to time, and his ears must be pulled in order to.make 
him rise again. Explain all this, as I wish to be free from 
scruples.” His horses therefore were not, as we may see, 
over-expensive ones. One of them was sold for four ducats, 
and the other for twenty-two carlins. Such was the end of 
Alphonsus’ pompous and superb equipage. 

During this same year God deprived Alphonsus of his 
greatest consolation, that is to say, he became unable to 
say mass any longer. The celebration of the holy mysteries 
had been most painful to him, especially as he would ob¬ 
serve the most minute rubrics, and make the genuflections 
to the ground. As F. Villani saw that he became daily 
more and more infirm, and that he had several times been 
nearly unable to go on, he told him that it was the will of 
God that he should abstain from celebrating the holy sacri¬ 
fice any more. As soon as he heard that it was the will of 
God, and that of his director, he bowed his head in sub¬ 
mission, and on Friday the 25th of November 1784, he 
celebrated mass for the last time. But though incapable 
of celebrating himself, he did not therefore dispense himself 
from assisting at the divine mysteries. Every morning 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


529 


after he had heard mass in his oratory, received holy com¬ 
munion and made his thanksgiving, he went down to the 
church with the assistance of his servant and^Br. F. Anthony, 
and was placed at the side of the altar: he staid there 
without moving from his chair for several hours, and heard 
as many as five or six masses. During the day he was 
again conducted to the church, and prayed for several 
hours before the Blessed Sacrament. Br. F. Anthony de¬ 
clared that he remained before the altar for at least five or 
six hours every day. But it is impossible to describe what 
pain he felt at not being able to celebrate mass. 

Fresh torments however were reserved for him, for God, 
who wished to prove him as gold in the crucible, gave him 
up, as he did holy Job, to all the malice ofthe enemy of our 
salvation. I allude to distress of mind, to scruples, terrors, 
and perplexities, the martyrdom of privileged souls. A tor¬ 
rent of iniquities came to alarm his heart; he saw nothing 
but sin and offences against God ; and he was the sport of 
the temptations and illusions of the devil to such an ex¬ 
tent, that he lost all his peace and serenity, and thick gloom 
overspread his mind. “Who knows,” said he weep¬ 
ing, “who knows if I am in a state of grace, and if I shall 
be saved ? Ah, Jesus, do not let me be damned! 0 Lord, 
do not send me to hell, because in hell I cannot love thee.” 
“Ah, Lord, punish me as I deserve ; but do not cast me out 
from before thy face.” He had at the same time to endure 
the rebellion of his senses, and continual thoughts of vani¬ 
ty, presumption, and incredulity. “ There is not one of our 
holy mysteries,” said F. Mazzini, “against which he had 
not temptations. At one time the devil would attack him 
on one point, at another on something else ; but that which 
most excited my compassion, was to see him attacked on 
several points at the same time. I have been terrified 
at his temptations, and delighted at his courage in sur¬ 
mounting them.” His confidence in Jesus and Mary 
caused him to invoke their names unceasingly when he 
was tempted by distrust. His temptations against purity 
were especially overpowering. Concupiscence became at 
45 


530 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


times so enkindled within him, that he was no longer able 
to distinguish the feeling from consent, and he then used 
to break forth into loud groans and strike his feet against 
the ground. During this time a priest who went one day 
to see him, said to him : “ My Lord, you seem to me to be 
melancholy, you, who used always to be so cheerful.” 
“ Alas,” replied Alphonsus, “ I endure the torments ofhell.” 
As he was often unable to resist so many assaults alone, 
and was afraid of sending for the fathers Villani and Mazzini 
too often, he was sometimes to be seen dragging himself 
to their rooms, descending from the upper corridor to the 
lower one in search of some relief, and when he could not 
find either of these two confessors, he went to the first father 
whom he happened to meet with. Very often, in the mid- 
die of the night, when he was unable to sleep through his 
temptations, he awoke the servant or the brother who as¬ 
sisted him, that they might aid him in dissipating his terrors; 
and sometimes they were so violent, that he went to speak 
to F. Villani. 

His only relief was in prayer; but he often found no support 
even in that. “ I go to God,” he one day said to F. Villani, 
“ and at every word I say, he seems to reject me. A fresh 
storm assailed me this morning. I said ‘My Jesus, I love 
thee,’ and I heard a voice, which answered: ‘That is not 
true.’ ” On another day when F. Villani tried to console 
him, Alphonsus replied : “ I hear a voice which says to me, 

* thou hast abandoned thy God, and he has abandoned thee.’ ” 
His chief reason for thinking himself lost, as we have seen 
above, was because he could not remember having ever 
done any good work and had been so very unfaithful to 
God. “I have trodden under foot all my obligations,” he 
one day said to F. Villani, “ I no longer say mass, I no 
longer say the office, I do not do any good works; my 
senses are rebellious, and I eat like a wolf; I cannot tell 
how God can bear with me any longer.” However, he 
never ate without regret: “ In the circumstances in which 
I am,” said he to F. Villani, “I ought to be vigilant in 
mortifying my senses and my appetite.” Many times, the 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


531 


fear of sinning made him suddenly put down his knife and 
fork and stop eating. At other times he could not make 
up his mind to take any thing. 

His scruples and disquietude were especially great just as 
he was going to communicate. His love for Jesus Christ 
made him long to be united to him, and the fear of being 
in an unfit state made him draw back. The celebrant 
was often obliged to tranquillize him, and to wait till 
he had recovered his composure. Several times he would 
not have communicated if F. Villani had not arrived just in 
time to make him do so. One day when he was greatly 
disturbed, he remained irresolute until it was twelve o’clock ; 
but when the cloud was at length dispersed, he exclaimed 
weeping, “ Give me Jesus Christ.” But as all had said 
mass, it was necessary to carry him to the church to enable 
him to have the happiness of communicating. On a similar 
occasion, after the storm, his desire of receiving his God be¬ 
came so ardent, that in order to console him it was neces¬ 
sary to take the Blessed Sacrament to his room. “ When 
will you come ?” he then kept exclaiming, “ when will you 
come, my dear Jesus?” Thus it was, that although rejected 
by God, as it were, he was therefore only more eager to 
receive him, and to converse with him in the Blessed Sa¬ 
crament. When he was the most assailed by his ordinary 
temptations, he redoubled his entreaties to be carried to 
the church, and he told Br. Anthony that the devil left him 
in peace whilst there. 

Whilst in this state of desolation, he did not cease to 
welcome and console people who came to see him in 
order to consult him in their troubles. One of his cousins, 
who was a religious at Naples, was tormented by scruples 
and temptations at this time, and wrote to ask his advice; 
Alphonsus said in reply: “Your Reverence tells me that 
there are times when you believe that you are lost; let us 
console one another, for I am under a similar trial. Al¬ 
though I am so near death, temptations do not leave me, 
and like yourself, my only resource is to gaze on the cruci¬ 
fix. Let us then embrace the cross, and remember always 


532 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ dying. In this way 
we have ground to hope that he will not send us to hell, 
where we should be separated from him, and unable to 
love him any more, which would make the hell of our hell. 
Let us therefore continually say to him, ‘ Lord, cause me 
to love thee, and then send me where thou wilt. I deserve 
all sorts of trials through my sins ; chastise me as thou 
wilt, but do not deprive me of the happiness of loving 
thee.’ .... Although you are amid all these disquietudes, 
do not forget always to recommend poor sinners to Jesus 
Christ at the end of your meditations.” 

Alphonsus continued for upwards of a year in this de¬ 
plorable state, during which time, according to the testi¬ 
mony of F. Villani, his blind obedience and self-abandon¬ 
ment in the hands of God never once quitted him. He. 
had such faith in obedience, that as he could not always 
have F. Villani in person when he wanted advice, he used 
often to send his servant or the brother to tell him of the 
object of his uneasiness. What consoled him the most 
was to abandon himself to the goodness of God. One day 
when he was tempted as severely as possible, a father said 
to him, “My Lord, look at the crucifix, and say with me: 

‘ In te Domine speravi .” Alphonsus had no sooner done 
so than he regained his peace of mind, and he went on re¬ 
peating: “ Non confundar in (sternum.” “ My only resource 
amid my distress,” he himself said to F. Villani, “is to cast 
myself into the hands of God ; he alone can give me peace ; 
I do trust that Jesus Christ, through a pure effect of his 
mercy, will not send me to hell.” It is true that he recov¬ 
ered his serenity at certain intervals, but they were very 
short. However, this interior desolation never caused him 
to omit his devotional exercises; nay, his whole time was 
consecrated to prayer and spiritual reading. He took at 
this time particular interest in the life of St. Gregory 
Nazianzen, and in that of St. Francis of Sales, as they had 
both gone through the same trials. 

The devil, not having succeeded in shaking our saint’s 
faith and virtue by all these temptations, strove to cause 



LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


533 


him to fall into his snares by presenting himself before him 
under the form of strange phantoms. One day he sent for 
F. Corrado in the greatest haste, and said to him in extreme 
alarm: “An enemy has been here who has thrown me into 
a state of great distress; he said that I have no faith, and 
that I shall be damned. I have not attached any faith to 
all that he wished to make me believe, and I have not really 
doubted. I believe all that the Holy Church teaches, and I 
hope to be saved through the merits of Jesus Christ and 
those of the Most Holy Virgin Mary.” When F. Corrado 
related this to F. Mazzini, he told him that Alphonsus had 
for some time been tormented by similar apparitions, some¬ 
times under one form, and sometimes under another. 

One day the devil appeared to him under the form of a 
Napolitan missionary ; he began to converse with him about 
his numerous works, and told him that every one was al¬ 
ways praising his writings, and was full of admiration at the 
good they every where effected. At these words Alphon¬ 
sus humbled and abased himself, saying: “I have done 
what I could, but all the good is the result of the assistance 
of God.” “ That is true,” replied the pretended missionary; 
“ but it will always be said that they are your works, and 
that you are the author of all this good.” Alphonsus upon 
this feeling some temptation to self-love, humbled himself 
still more; he recurred to God by prayer, and made the 
sign of the cross, which caused the phantom instantly to 
vanish. 

The devil went to him on another day under the form of 
a priest, and said: “After all your labor in composing so 
many works, what have you gained ? All that you have said 
and written is useless as regards yourself; you will be damned 
notwithstanding all this, for there is now no hope of your 
salvation. Something besides books and missions is neces¬ 
sary.” Alphonsus humbled himself interiorly and replied : 
“ I have done and could do nothing good of myself; I have 
no merit before God, save the merits of Jesus Christ and 
the Most Holy Virgin Mary.” Upon this the phantom im¬ 
mediately vanished. 

45* 


534 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


One day when he was tormented by the thorn of the 
flesh, the devil came before him under the appearance of 
one of the fathers. Alphonsus confided his temptation to 
him : “ 0 that is nothing,” replied the impure spirit, “those 
are natural feelings, to which one need not attend.” Al¬ 
phonsus was seized with horror, and invoked Jesus and 
Mary with so much agitation that he nearly fell from the 
chair, and thus put the tempter to flight. 

Another time he appeared to him under the form of a 
gentleman who had been in his confidence, and for whom 
he had great esteem, and endeavored to lead him to des¬ 
pair. Alphonsus, who felt no reason to distrust him, ac¬ 
knowledged his faults, but nevertheless said that he hoped 
in the merits of Jesus Christ. “ But what can you hope 
for?” said the supposed gentleman, “or what have I to 
hope for myself, if we are among the number of those un¬ 
happy beings who are destined for hell ?” “ Even in hell 

I will love Jesus Christ;” replied Alphonsus, “I do not 
put my trust in my works, but in the merits and passion of 
Jesus Christ.” This put the devil to confusion ; he was 
obliged to manifest who he was and to disappear. 

But this generous soldier of Jesus Christ did not fail to 
receive the consolations of the Lord from time to time, 
even in the midst of all these alarms. His ecstacies and 
ravishments were in fact more frequent than ever. A father 
who happened to be at Nocera in the October of 1784, and 
had several times the opportunity of observing him before 
the Blessed Sacrament, testified that he some times fell into 
such raptures of love that he made the most animated ges¬ 
tures, in spite of the weakness of his body. At other times 
the fathers perceived a ray of light which issued from his 
forehead, and shone upon the book which he held in his 
hands. A father once passing along the corridor before 
his room heard him utter a loud cry. He went in to know 
what was the matter, and saw him in an ecstacy, with 
his arms extended and his eyes fixed on the crucifix, and 
instead of the ordinary paleness of his face, it appeared 
like that of a seraph. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


535 


Alphonsus had a supernatural instinct which plainly 
told him of the presence of Jesus Christ in his heart after 
holy communion. F. Garzilli, who was ninety years old, 
had communicated him one day as usual, but as soon as 
Alphonsus commenced his thanksgiving, he said to the 
brother: “ F. Garzilli has not consecrated this morning.” 
The brother, astonished at this, hastened to inquire about it 
from Alexis who had served the mass, and he found that 
the father had inadvertently passed from the memento of 
the living to that of the dead. 

On the evening of holy Wednesday, Alphonsus was in 
bed and alone, when the servant, who was outside his room, 
heard him exclaim ten times over in a transport of joy: 
“ To-morrow is the feast, to-morrow is the feast of the 
blood of Jesus Christ.” Br. Anthony went in and found him 
continually repeating in his joy: “To-morrow is the feast 
of the blood of Jesus Christ.” “That is true,” the brother 
said to him, “ to-morrow is Holy Thursday, when commem¬ 
oration is made of the body and blood of Jesus Christ.” 
Alphonsus did not then say another word, finding that he 
had been overheard. The wonder in this was that for 
some time he had been unable to distinguish any of the 
months of the year, and much less the weeks and the days. 

One day he seemed quite joyous, and sending for the 
students after dinner, he asked them for an explanation of 
a stanza of a hymn by St. John of the Cross. No one was 
able to understand it, when he explained it to them 
with so much unction and such knowledge, that all the 
fathers and clerics who were present were filled with 
admiration. 

Another day, when he was sitting in silence in his chair, 
a brother who was in the room observed that in an ecstacy 
he darted forwards towards the altar as if he wanted to take 
or embrace something, and that he did so several times. 
Br. Anthony then came in, and perceiving that his eyes 
were turned towards the figure of the Blessed Virgin, which 
was on the altar, he immediately took it and presented it to 
him. Alphonsus seized it with holy impetuosity, and kissed 


536 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


it with a thousand acts of love. After some time he ex¬ 
claimed in rapture: “I cannot, I cannot separate myself 
from the love of Jesus Christ.” 

Whilst he was being taken round the corridor, he was 
unceasingly reproaching himself, fancying that he did not 
satisfy his obligations. A father feeling compassion for the 
state he was in, went up to him once to tell him that his 
age and infirmities dispensed him from all, and that he 
could supply every thing by one act of love. “ By an act 
of love!” Alphonsus repeated with emotion, “Teach me 
then how to make this act of love.” The father went close 
to him and said: “ My God ! I love thee with all my heart.” 
And Alphonsus immediately repeated : “ My God ! I love 
thee,” but with such a sudden motion of his head, that it 
struck against the father’s chin, which was inclined towards 
him. 

An architect from Naples came one day to Nocera, and 
Alphonsus asked him if the theatres were frequented in 
Naples, and if his nephew, D. Joseph, attended them. 
When the architect said that they were a good deal in 
fashion, he was silent for some minutes, and then asked 
with still more interest: “Are the chapels much frequented ?” 
“ Yes,” answered the architect, “ and you cannot imagine 
what good results from this; a crowd of people of all classes 
go to them now, and we have saints even among the coach¬ 
men.” At these words, Alphonsus, who was lying in bed, 
jumped up suddenly and exclaimed: “ Saintly coachmen 
at Naples! Gloria Patri, &c.,” and he repeated this three 
times. The joy which these tidings gave him prevented 
him from sleeping the following night, and calling some¬ 
times for the servant, sometimes for the lay brother, he 
kept continually repeating: “ Saintly coachmen at Naples ! 
what do you think of that! You heard what the architect 
said: Gloria Patri! there are saintly coachmen at Na¬ 
ples.” 

Such were some of the holy ardors and the celestial fa¬ 
vors with which the Lord comforted his servant in his trials. 
He was moreover also pleased at times to manifest his ho- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


537 


liness. During an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the moun¬ 
tain of Somma, which is close to Pagani, threatened some 
fresh disaster, to the great injury of the town. It was seen 
emitting torrents of fire. The fathers were alarmed at this 
sight, and hastened to inform Alphonsus of it. The poor 
old man immediately dragged himself to the window, and 
appeared filled with sorrow. They begged him to bless 
the mountain, but he resisted; however, on their reiterated 
entreaties he raised his hands, and said: “ I bless thee in 
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost.” He had scarcely done speaking ere the danger 
ceased ; the torrents took another direction, and the vol¬ 
cano emitted its fire and stones into the gorge of a valley 
near by. 

Theresa Desiderio of Nocera had a child of about eight 
years, who had suffered from various serious maladies for 
several years. A relation of hers took it to Alphonsus, and 
told him how much it suffered. Alphonsus blessed the 
child, and told him daily to recite three jives in honor of 
Mary. The child was cured that very instant; he continued 
to have good health, and afterwards became a priest. 

A gentleman of the diocese of Nola had a son who was 
deaf. He one day took him to Alphonsus to beg him to 
bless him: Alphonsus did so, and the child returned home 
entirely cured. 

Whilst Alphonsus yet went out in the carriage, mothers 
used to press forward on the road to meet him and to pre¬ 
sent their sick children to him, praying him to bless them. 
His great charity caused him to stop the carriage, and while 
the servant held the children he laid his hands on them and 
said some prayers, after which he restored them to their 
mothers safe and sound, saying to them: “Recommend 
them to Mary.” When these drives ceased, they brought 
their children to the house; the servant then took them to 
Alphonsus, who imposed his hands on them as before, and 
they were healed instantly. Alexis, the servant, and Br. 
Anthony declared that he effected thousands of such 
cures. 


538 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


He often also prophesied during these latter years. “ Our 
Congregation will sustain a great loss soon,” he one day 
said to the fathers, and shortly after F. Alexander de Meo 
was struck with apoplexy in the pulpit, while preaching at 
Nola, and died in the church. 

A young Neapolitan, having come to Nocera for the re¬ 
covery of his health, went to see Alphonsus one day and 
begged him to recommend him to God that he might obtain 
a perfect cure. Alphonsus only said these few words to 
him : “ Pray to the Blessed Virgin to assist you to die well.” 
Theyoungman understood the meaningofthe words too well; 
he returned to Naples, and in a few days had ceased to live. 

One day Alphonsus suddenly aroused himself from a 
profound meditation, and exclaimed : “A great calamity 
will befall Naples in the year ’99, and I thank God for 
sparing me from witnessing it.” He had foretold the en¬ 
trance of the French army into Naples, and the misfortunes 
which ensued. 

Another day a gentleman came to Nocera, accompanied 
by one of his sisters, who said she had been possessed by 
the devil, and wished Alphonsus to comedown to bless her 
and to recommend her to God. When he was asked to go 
and comfort her, he several times cast his eyes on the cru¬ 
cifix and the figure of Mary ; and then with a sigh said to 
the Father who had come to speak to him about her: “ Pos¬ 
session ! possession ! Tell her to make a good confession.” 
The young lady did so, and the evil spirit which had tor¬ 
mented her remained in the confessional. 

One day he said to the fathers, as if he were awaking 
out of a deep sleep : “ There is a wicked intercourse being 
carried on near this,” and he repeated this several times 
with signs of the greatest uneasiness ; but no one under¬ 
stood what he meant. He immediately sent for the priest, 
and complained to him of what was taking place in his 
parish with impunity. The priest was confounded, and 
said: “That is true, it is a hidden disorder which I have 
not yet been able to do away with.” No one, however, 
in the whole neighborhood knew any thing about it. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


539 


As Alphonsus’ body became visibly weaker day by day, 
his soul only became thereby stronger and his fervor in the 
exercises of all virtues more admirable; let us give some 
instances of it. He was always submissive to the will of 
God, suffering all his ailments without ever murmuring, and 
the crosses, with which he was so heavily laden, never 
caused him to commit the slightest act of impatience. 
One day when he asked F. Villani some question, he was 
not able to catch his answer: “What can I do,” said he, 
“if God has also visited me with deafness? Blessed be 
his name for ever!” One evening when he could not read 
a passage of Scripture, he said in a cheerful tone: “ When 
one once gets old, one loses his sight and his hearing: if 
this be the will of God, our best remedy is patience.” 

His humility seemed to increase as he approached his 
end. Some sick persons presented themselves before him 
one day to beg him to heal them. “If I were a saint,” 
he said to them, “and if I knew how to work miracles, I 
should cure myself, who am so crippled and worthless.” 
During his last years he used sometimes to go to the door 
of the convent to get a little air; several persons used to 
take advantage of this opportunity to ask his blessing; this 
alarmed his humility, and he consulted fathers Villani and 
Mazzini to know whether he ought to give it. They replied 
that as it was a bishop’s office to bless, it would not be 
proper for him to refuse. One day a number of young 
children came and ranged themselves before him. “Look 
at these young sparrows around an old owl,” said Alphon¬ 
sus cheerfully. Canon D. Gabriel Genga, the superior of 
the Propaganda at Naples, went to see him one day: when 
the canon asked for his blessing, he said “It is you who 
ought to bless me, for I am your subject, and you are my 
superior.” The contest was quite a serious one; at length 
the canon yielded, but only on the condition that he would 
bless Alphonsus as superior, and that Alphonsus should 
bless him as bishop. 

A spirit of obedience naturally springs from true humility. 
He, therefore, although a superior and a bishop, always 


540 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


depended on the local rector, or, in his absence, on the 
minister, in regard to all his actions and wants. He did 
not like even to move, I may say, without a permission. 
F. Mazzini, when he was rector, had exhorted him not to 
undertake vocal prayers. After this Alphonsus once felt 
disposed to recite some prayers for the souls in purgatory. 
“Go,” said he to Alexis, “and tell D. John to bless as 
many Pater Nosters as I want to apply to the souls in pur¬ 
gatory ; but tell him that I want to recite a great many, and 
ask him to bless them all.” But he carried his submission 
to others much farther, so that Br. Fr. Anthony and Alexis 
really made him do all they wished. 

As he had taken holy poverty for his spouse, any thing 
contrary to it made him tremble. In consideration of his 
episcopal character, the rector of the house had allotted a 
silver fork for his use, but Alphonsus only used it with re¬ 
gret. He employed some little address in order to get rid 
of it, and tried to prove that it was not sharp enough. He 
complained of it so often that it was at last felt necessary 
to give him a steel one, “a sharp and good one,” as he 
said. He was quite pleased at this, and made use of it till 
F. Villani, not thinking it suitable for a bishop, especially 
before strangers, forbade him to go on with it. Alphonsus 
did not say a word in remonstrance, but it was perceptible 
how painful it was to him to make use of a silver fork. 

One day when going round the house in his wheel chair, 
he was taken into the library, where he saw a harpsichord 
and asked what it was. “ It is your harpsichord ;” was the 
answer : “ It is the one your brother gave to you.” “ Your 
harpsichord!” Alphonsus replied in great alarm, “I have 
nothing of my own: it was not given to me, but to the 
community.” If the food was not quite plain, he became 
uneasy, and even refused to eat. He would have no other 
fish than sardines at Nocera, as at Arienzo, because they are 
of little value. “ I am poor,” said he, “ and I ought to eat as 
the poor do.” One day when a rare fruit was served up to 
him, which he had heard was sold at a very high price in Na¬ 
ples, he took it in his hands and looked at it, but nothing the 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


541 


servant could do could persuade him to eat it. One day, 
it was the 25th of October 1786, he ate nothing at all; as 
he had had no relish for any kind of nourishment for some 
time, a mullet was prepared for him. He asked what it 
was, and the servant afraid of the consequences of telling 
him, replied, “ It is some fish.” Alphonsus did not venture 
to touch it in such uncertainty. “Tell him it is a mullet,” 
said one of the fathers, “and then he will eat it.” It was 
just the contrary; at the very name, he exclaimed “Take 
away this dish—take it away, it is not fit for the poor.” 
The servant cut it in pieces and put vinegar with it, and 
then served it up to him as another dish ; but Alphonsus 
discovered it and sent it away. He was then given some 
blan c-mange, under the pretext that it was a dish which 
the poor use. Alphonsus tasted it, but finding what it 
really was, he also sent that away; and as it was a Wednes¬ 
day, he would not eat any fruit either, so he remained 
fasting. Another time, as it was observed that he had 
scarcely eaten any thing, a little piece of Spanish bread was 
presented to him; he looked at it, but would not take it; 
and as the servant urged him to take it, he replied: “I 
never ate it even in the world, and do you wish me to eat 
it in the monastery ! ” 

Far from making any complaints when he was badly 
served, he even then returned thanks with humility. As 
he fancied it was a trouble to the brother and the servant 
to draw him about in his wheel chair, he never used it 
without regret. He wanted to dispense with this comfort 
altogether, but the orders of the doctors and of F. Villani 
prevented his doing so. He also thought that the noise of 
the wheels rnio-ht incommode the others during the time of 
silence and study, and so he was not satisfied till the wheels 
were covered with leather. 

As to modesty, he was so particular in this regard, that 
he would not even allow his nails to be cut, and it often 
required the express orders of the doctors and of his di¬ 
rector to make him consent to have his wounds dressed. 
When he used to go to the church, whenever people 
46 


542 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


pressed around him, he look care lo wrap his handkerchief 
around Iiis hand to prevent women from kissing it; and as to 
his eyes, one day when he was conversing on purity with 
the missionary priest established at Nocera, (whom he went 
sometimes to visit, as we said above,) he said to him: 
“Even I, old as I am, am obliged to walk with my eyes 
down in coming merely from St. Michael’s, in order to pre¬ 
vent temptations against holy purity. Some use no control 
over their eyes, and yet they wonder that they are tempted.” 

With regard to mortification, Alphonsus cherished it to 
his last days. One day he had unthinkingly manifested a 
wish to have some little cakes ; the brother at once had them 
procured for him, but nothing would make him eat them 
when they were brought to him. The doctors ordered rai¬ 
sins to be put in his soup, but as he liked them, he carefully 
put them aside when he found them; he even forbade them to 
be served up to him again, but F. Villani commanded him 
to take them. On Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, he 
did all he could in order to abstain from meat, although he 
had a dispensation to eat it from the doctors and his con¬ 
fessor. One day some livers of fowls were served up to him; 
as he thought it to be Wednesday, he wanted to send them 
away, pretending he had no relish for them, and saying: 
“Meat does not suit my stomach.” When the brother 
urged him, he said : “ it is Wednesday to-day, and I keep 
it because I wear the scapular.” The brother told him he 
was mistaken, it being Tuesday; he then began to eat them, 
and his stomach felt no further repugnance. He also had 
made it a rule not to eat fruit when it first came in season, 
and he never touched it even when a nonagenarian. Some 
cherries just ripe were one day put before him, but as it 
was on a Saturday he had a double reason for abstaining 
from them; he examined them, and put them down again, 
saying: “I will not eat them, they are not ripe”—and 
when efforts were made to get him to eat them, he said : “I 
will not, they might disagree with me.” So he did with 
the first of grapes and other fruits. From the time he en¬ 
tered into religion he never drank any thing on Saturdays, 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


543 


either at meals, or throughout the whole course of the day; 
and he kept this practice up until he was eighty-eight years 
of age. At this period, the doctors ordered that he should 
daily take a cup of cold chocolate. He would not take it 
on Saturdays, and it was necessary to have recourse to F. 
Villani. 

All dishes were insipid to him if they were not seasoned 
with the salt of mortification. His pocket was always filled 
with bitter herbs, which were dried and often reduced to 
powder, and it was with these aromatics that he continued 
to season all his food, as he had done throughout his life ; he 
even put the fruit he took in salt, in order to mortify his 
palate. For some years he had been in the habit of taking 
two small glasses of wine before going to bed, in order to 
obtain some rest; but latterly he did without it, and in or¬ 
der to conceal this mortification, he said : “A little water is 
better than all the cordials in the world.” In fact, he had 
such an avidity for mortification that he was constantly- 
complaining, saying that he led an easy life and did no 
penance. “ It is not thus the saints lived,” he often said 
with sorrow. As he could not crucify his flesh by instru¬ 
ments of penance as he would have liked to do, he found 
an expedient bv which he could do continual penance; it 
was the motionless position in which he remained in his 
chair from morning to night. The servant one day seeing 
him placed in an uncomfortable manner, said to him: 
“Move a little, my Lord, for you are in an awkward posi¬ 
tion.” But Alphonsus replied ; “ What is the use of my 
moving? I am always crooked.” His apparent insensibility 
while in this attitude caused h m to appear more like a block 
of marble than a living being; and he practised this heroic 
act of penance during the twenty years his illness lasted. 

Charity, also, that noble bond which unites all virtues 
together, was in Alphonsus both the foundation and the 
summit of his perfection, and in all his actions he only had 
union with God in view. “By the mercy of Jesus Christ,” 
he one day said to F. Villani, “ I do not feel attached to 
any thing.” His transports of love towards God were so 


544 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS 


frequent, that it seemed as if he formed but one act of love 
from morning till night. Notwithstanding all the weakness 
produced by his maladies, he still always performed the 
smallest practices of religion ; he never even took the least 
nourishment without blessing it. His respect for the 
holy sacrifice always impelled him to cast himself on his- 
knees at the consecration, until F. Villani forbade him 
to do it. After he had communicated, he lost all control 
over himself; he entered into a sweet ecstacy, and often 
repeated in an audible tone, “ My love, my God! O my 
Mother, love him for me.” His delight in his retreat at 
Nocera was, as we have seen above, to remain almost all 
day before the Blessed Sacrament. In October 1784, on 
the last day of the novena of St. Theresa, which he had 
made with the people, he entered into a long ecstacy, 
and continually repeated : “ 0 eternal love, I love thee.”' 
As F. Villani saw with regret that these transports of love 
attracted general attention, he tried to persuade him that 
his health no longer permitted him to go to the church. 
He submitted; but this privation was the greatest he had 
to endure. When the time when he had been accustomed 
to be taken there arrived, he testified the most incredible 
desire to go as he had been used to do: he dragged 
himself to the staircase, and tried to descend it, and not 
being able to do so went away again quite in affliction. 
When he made his visit in his oratory, it was with lighted 
candles on the altar, though the Blessed Sacrament was 
not kept there; and his heart supplied him with the most 
tender sentiments of adoration, love and confidence,, 
which he expressed in a loud voice. 

When he was taken round in his chair, he often said v. 
“Let us go to the church, let us visit Jesus Christ;” and 
he had often quite animated disputes on this head with the 
servant and the brother. Even in his sleep he dreamed only 
of the Blessed Sacrament and the Most Holy Virgin, and 
made the most affecting aspirations. A cleric once entered 
his room whilst he was asleep, and found him dreaming 
and saying: “ How lovely art thou, 0 Mary ! how beautiful 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


545 


thou art, O Mary! how beautiful art thou, my Jesus!” 
Another time he heard him repeat: “ I wish to please God, 
even if the whole world were to be overthrown ; I ever wish 
to please my God.” 

One evening when he was in a fever, he exclaimed in 
his delirium : “ I cast myself into the arms of Jesus Christ, 
I die without uneasiness, and I believe that I shall be saved 
by the merits of Jesus Christ and my Mother Mary; yes, I 
hope to go to thank them in Paradise.’’ His affection for 
Jesus crucified was very ardent; his image was always 
before his eyes, and his acts of love towards Jesus on the 
cross never ceased. The way of the cross, as we said 
above, he daily performed in a corridor of the house; he 
continued this devotion say to the age of eighty-eight, when 
he was forbidden to practice it any more, and after that he 
never omitted to perform it in spirit in his room before a 
large crucifix. In a word, his meditations never had any 
other object, he himself asserted, than the passion of Jesus 
Christ. 

His love towards the Most Holy Virgin Mary became 
more ardent than ever in his latter years. He never ne¬ 
glected an opportunity of rendering homage to her. As 
loner as he was able to walk, he could be seen making an 
offering of two fowls to the Blessed Virgin during the 
Octave of Easter and on the last Sunday of July, when the 
miraculous statue called of our Lady of the fowls was car¬ 
ried in procession ; it being the custom at Nocera to carry 
it about at that time, and to deposit fowls at its feet. He 
never omitted to say an Jive before his meals and his other 
actions, as well as when he heard the clock strike. After 
the Jlngelus , which he never omitted, he always remained for 
some time absorbed in the contemplation of the grand mys¬ 
tery. If it w'ere on Saturday or Sunday, he took care to 
recite it standing; and when others tried to persuade him 
to remain seated, he answered: “One does not gain the 
indulgences, if one does not stand.” The same thing took 
place in the evening when the bell rang for the Deprofundis 
for the dead. He continued to say this until the eighty- 
46* 


546 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


ninth year of his age, when F. Villani, in consideration of 
the great difficulty he had in making these acts, ordered 
that he should no longer be info/med when they took place. 

As the rosary had always been his special devotion, he 
recited it several times a day with the servant or Br. Fr. 
Anthony, whilst they took him up and down the corri¬ 
dor, never omitting to meditate on the mysteries. But 
when F. Villani, in order to relieve him from all uneasiness, 
commuted all his vows into the recitation of the rosary, he 
was to be seen with the beads in his hand from morning to 
night. It was touching to hear the altercations he daily 
had with the brother or the servant, sometimes because he 
had not made the intention properly, sometimes because he 
had not distinguished the mysteries carefully, or they had 
not suggested them according to the day of the week, and 
then he insisted on recommencing afresh. One day vyhen 
dinner was ready, he fancied he had not finished his rosary, 
and he resisted going to it, saying : “An Ave Maria is worth 
all the dinners in the world.” Another day when he did 
not remember having recited it, the brother told him he had 
done so;—“ But,” said he, “ you forget that my salvation 
depends upon it.” One day in 1784, when he was in a 
profound lethargy, Br. Fr. Anthony said to him, by the ad¬ 
vice of F. Villani: “My Lord, we have still to recite the 
rosary.” At the simple word rosary, he moved, opened his 
eyes, and began “ Deus in adjutorium ,” &c. 

He was, besides, always, up to the last, careful to recom¬ 
mend devotion to the Blessed Virgin to all who came to 
see him, strangers as well as those of the Congregation, 
especially the novices and young clerics. “Be devout to 
the Blessed Virgin,” said he to them ; “ he who is devoted 
to her will be saved.” He recommended every one to visit 
her images, to recite the rosary, and to fast in her honor on 
Saturday and on the vigils of her feasts. 

In conclusion, we might say there was not even a sigh 
which he did not consecrate to God by solemnly offering 
it to him; so that the whole life of our saint was truly full 
of good works and virtues. To give a last proof of this 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


547 


wonderful fullness, let us mention the number of good acts 
which he used to make before going to sleep; they would 
have remained unknown, had he not caused Br. Fr. Anthony 
to write them down one day in 1784 , for fear of forgetting 
them. They are as follows: Ten acts of love ; ten acts of 
confidence ; ten acts of sorrow; ten acts of conformity to the 
will of God; ten acts of love towards Jesus Christ; ten 
acts of love to the Blessed Virgin ; ten acts of love towards 
the Blessed Sacrament; ten acts of confidence in Jesus 
Christ; ten acts of confidence in the Blessed Virgin; ten 
acts of resignation to suffering; ten acts of abandonment 
to God ; ten acls of abandonment to Jesus Christ; ten acts 
of abandonment to Mary ; and ten prayers to do the will of 
God. 

To his love of God he did not fail to unite, up to the 
last, as he had done throughout his whole life, that of his 
neighbor. When he heard that any one of his fathers was 
ill, he was sensibly distressed; he immediately caused him¬ 
self to be conducted to him in his chair, and as it could not 
be taken into the room, he himself was carried in and con¬ 
versed with the sick person for some time. He inquired 
about his maladies, exhorted him to patience, but above all 
recommended union with God and conformity to his will. 
He manifested this solicitude for all, and as much in regard 
to the lay-brothers as to the fathers. Besides, he constantly 
prayed for the perseverance of the just and the conversion 
of sinners; he was seen to burst into tears for the latter, 
and to offer himself a victim to God for them. In order to 
see him look young again, it sufficed to tell him of some 
extraordinary conversion. He started on hearing it, and 
the satisfaction of his heart was then depicted on his coun¬ 
tenance; and it sufficed to say the words “ the glory of 
God ” and the “ salvation of souls,” to reanimate him and 
give him fresh strength. But, on the other hand, he was 
greatly distressed when he heard of scandals and offences 
against God. Mgr. Bergame, the bishop of Gaeta, being 
about to set out for Naples after a visit to our saint, Alphon- 
sus said to him: “Now that you are going to Naples, I 


548 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


entreat you to send for Father N., and to tell him from me 
not to ill-treat souls, which have been redeemed by the 
blood of Jesus Christ.” This was a Jansenist zealot, who 
caused him the greatest uneasiness. 

We ought not to omit to record here two most precious 
confessions which in these latter years fell from his own 
lips. One day he was heard to exclaim: “Lord! thou 
knowest well that all that I have thought, said, done, and 
written, has been for souls and for thee;” and on another 
day, conversing with F. Villani, he let these words escape : 
“I am a bishop, and I ought to tell the truth; I do not re¬ 
member having ever uttered a deliberate falsehood even 
when I was a child.” 


CHAPTER XXXVI. 


JLlphonsus’ last illness and Death. 


LPHONSUS was now in his ninetieth year; and the 



ii rectitude of his judgment and his presence of mind 
continued to be admirable, although his humility and de¬ 
tachment from all earthly affections made him sometimes 
assume an air of puerile simplicity. This was the case es¬ 
pecially in visits of mere civility, which now more than ever 
were insupportable to him. When he was obliged to receive 
such visits from persons of distinction, he knew how to get 
rid of them speedily, whatever might be their rank, by 
manifesting weariness, or making his deafness an excuse for 
keeping silence, so that imagining he was imbecile, or in 
a state of second childhood, they soon took their leave. 
He acted however very differently with religious people 
who conversed with him about things which merited his 
attention. Two conventual fathers visited him in these 
latter days. He was told that one of them, who had re¬ 
cently been ordained priest, wished to kiss his hand. At 
the word priest, Alphons.us exclaimed: “A great dignity, 
a great dignity is the sacerdotal dignity!” The priest then 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


549 


recommended himself to his prayers. “ I am a miserable 
creature,” said Alphonsus, “you must pray God for me, 
who am on the eve of making the great journey from time 
to eternity, and of presenting myself before the tribunal of 
God.” He said these words with such an expression, that 
the two religious retired in terror, saying: “ If his lordship 
trembles, what will become of us ?” Two young fathers of 
the Congregation, on being raised to the priesthood, went 
to him to thank him and kiss his hand ; but Alphonsus, 
through respect for the dignity with which they had just 
been invested, kissed their hands, exclaiming; “Oh what 
a great dignity ! Oh what a great dignity it is to be a priest! 
you are now exalted above sovereigns, kings, and emperors.” 
Counsellor Gaetan Celano came to see him in October 
1786, with his wife and the Marquis of St. Lucia. He re¬ 
ceived these distinguished guests with all due considera- 
tion, especially as he considered himself under great obli¬ 
gations to the counsellor, who had always supported him 
and his Congregation at Naples under the most embarrassing 
circumstances. He turned the conversation, to render it 
profitable to them, upon the duties of the marriage state, 
and strongly exhorted them to have but one will, assuring 
them that their happiness depended upon it. 

He showed a great degree of strength of mind and 
memory in all the most important and difficult affairs of 
the Congregation, as well as in other affairs about which he 
was consulted or on which he had to decide, of which 
many instances are on record. Nor did the Lord cease to 
communicate his favors to him. In December 1786, D. 
Fr. Tortora, his physician, being taken ill, sent to beg him 
to recommend him to God. He said an Jive Maria to the 
Blessed Virgin and recited the litanies, after which he said 
at once without any hesitation : “ he will die.” The illness 
did not appear to be mortal, but three days afterwards D. 
Francis Tortora, though contrary to all expectations, had 
passed into eternity. The F. Master Caputo, the president 
of the seminary at St. Agatha in Alphonsus’ time, was 
taken ill at Naples. Alphonsus was informed of it that he 


550 


LIFE OF ST. A.LPHONSUS. 


might recommend him to God. Some days afterwards, on 
the 8th of October 1786, at about four o’clock in the after¬ 
noon, Alphonsus suddenly turned round towards Br. Fi\ 
Anthony, and said : “ the F. Master is dying.” And so 
it was ; this same day at about eight o’clock in the evening, 
he passed into eternity after four hours agony. God also 
revealed to him about this time the approach of his own 
deliverance, that is to say, the time of his death. In the 
month of September 1786, a Carmelite father came to see 
him, as he was in the habit of doing every year, when Al¬ 
phonsus said to him : “ F. Joseph, we shall not see each 
other again next year.” At a later period, on the 16th of 
July 1787, he turned to Br. Fr. Anthony, and said to him 
in quite a joyful tone: “Brother, I have a new function to 
perform.” He spoke of his death and funeral. The mys¬ 
tery was understood when he was attacked by a violent 
dysentery during the night of the 18th of the same month. 
On the morning of the 19th, after he had assisted at mass 
and received the holy communion, he was attacked by a 
fever. In the after part of the next day, he fell into such 
a state of weakness and prostration, that he seemed as if 
he were just going to expire. He was, however, able to 
take some nourishment, and after having recovered some 
strength, he slept during a part of the following night. As 
soon as his death drew near, all his scruples vanished, and 
his serenity never again left him throughout the whole of 
his painful illness. 

Towards eight o’clock on the morning of the 2 k 2d, as he 
was still in full possession of his intellectual faculties, he 
was asked if he would like to hear mass and to communi¬ 
cate ; he replied, “ Make haste.” When he was told that 
mass had commenced, he made the sign of the cross as 
usual and repeated : “ Make haste.” At the reception of 
the blood he was no longer quite himself, but being told 
that he must then communicate, he recovered his senses, 
communicated, and continued to make acts of love towards 
Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. He was quite calm and 
serene until the evening, but fever then seized him again. 


I 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


551 


and he became delirious. He became worse on the night 
of the 23d. As soon as it was day-light, he was told that 
it was time to hear mass and to communicate. “Let them 
make haste,” he replied in a state of great prostration. 
On seeing that there was a delay, he repeated several 
times over: “ Will they not then give me communion?” 
but when the time arrived for giving it to him, he had 
lost his senses. The doctor was summoned, who gave 
him over. He was then told to prepare for exteme unction ; 
but he answered : “ I do not understand.” At length, as 
he saw that he did not receive communion, he said and re¬ 
peated : “I wish to have his body.” His wishes were not 
satisfied, for fear that he had not sufficient consciousness. 
After ext reme unction had been administered to him, F. 
A illani told him to bless the whole Congregation ; but al¬ 
though he repeated it over to him, he did not understand 
him. F. \ illani then told him that he must bless the Con¬ 
gregation as bishop and as superior, in obedience to the 
names of Jesus and Mary; on hearing the word obedience, 
he became quite collected, raised his hand and gave the 
wished-for benediction. 

When the extreme danger in which Alphonsus was had 
become known in the town and neighboring villages, 
gentlemen, religious, and priests hastened to visit him 
daily; Mgr. Sanfelice especially, never once omitted to 
come: and prayers were offered for him in all the monas¬ 
teries and all the churches. When the sad news was re¬ 
ceived in the houses of the Congregation, it caused general 
lamentation, and all the rectors, accompanied by all the sub¬ 
jects who were not wanted in the houses, set out to see him 
and receive his blessing. They all arrived within three days, 
even those of Benevento and St. Angelo. As soon as the 
saintly old man perceived them he maifested much pleasure, 
and blessed them with the sign of the cross. 

On the morning of the 27th, as he seemed a littie relieved, 
a second mass was celebrated towards seven o’clock in 
order to communicate him, but it was perceived that all his 
physical strength had abandoned him, though on hearing 


552 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


that mass was being celebrated and that he was going to 
receive Jesus Christ, lie had testified extreme joy. After 
some time, lie himself asked for his rosary, and he felt about 
with his hand here and there as if to find it. It was given 
to him, and although he had lost his senses, he went through 
it in a stammering way, but what he said was unintelligible. 
As he continued in the same state, the doctors wished him 
to swallow some bark with lemonade ; after he had taken 
two or three spoonfuls, he did not want to have any more. 
But he was told that the doctor required it, and that he 
must take more under obedience. At the words doctor 
and obedience, he instantly opened his mouth ; he then held 
out his hand to the doctor, who had asked to feel his pulse, 
saying: “ Here I am, 0 my God.” He also wished to feel 
his feet, but as soon as he perceived this, he exclaimed : 
“ Do not touch me,” and drew back his legs. Although 
he was burning through the extreme heat of the weather, 
his love for modesty never allowed him to be at all unco¬ 
vered : one day when the covering was a little displaced 
in order to wash him, he exclaimed in a tone of complaint 
to the servant Alexis: “They have uncovered me, is not 
that sinful ?” 

As he was every where held in very great veneration, 
when it became generally known that he was dying, it 
would be difficult to believe how many demands for relics 
of him were made even from distant places. The linen 
which was sent to be washed at this time was either not 
sent back to the house, or was returned only in fragments. 
Handkerchiefs full of rosaries and other objects of devotion 
were brought continually, with the request that they might 
touch his body. 

His state underwent little change during the 23d. As it 
was observed that his mind seemed more alive in the even¬ 
ing, he was asked it he wished for communion. At this 
proposition he started for joy, and when he was toid that 
the time was come, he joyously exclaimed several times : 
“Come, my dear Jesus.” He also made many acts of de¬ 
sire, and manifested a saintly eagerness by his gestures. He 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


553 


wanted the acts of thanksgiving to be suggested to him : 
this was done, and he listened and stammered them out, 
but without any body’s being able to make out the words. 
He was then asked to bless all who were present in the 
name of Jesus Christ; he then raised his hand and blessed 
them all in a perfectly collected manner. He became 
delirious again later in the evening. 

Several votive masses were said in his room on the morn¬ 
ing of the 24th. Very early in the morning he repeated 
with great urgency: “Give me Jesus Christ.” The acts 
of desire which he made, and his impatience to be soon 
consoled, drew tears from the eyes of all who were present; 
he was satisfied, and after having communicated he remained 
in a state of recollection, and made acts of love and thanks¬ 
giving. As fever came on again, his strength was once 
more prostrated, and he lost the use of his faculties, but 
when a father suggested to him to recite the Ave Maria 
and to have recourse to the Blessed Virgin, he moved his 
lips and recited the angelical salutation by himself, and 
turned to the father to know if he had said it properly; he 
then continued to stammer through the rosary. 

When it became known at Naples that Alphonsus was 
dying, the grief was general. All the nuns interested 
themselves about his state, and many religious followed 
their example; amongst others, the fathers of the Oratory, of 
the Pious Works, and of the Holy Family. The superior of 
the Congregation of Apostolical Missions, in concert with 
the superior of that of the Conference, hastened to inform all 
their subjects of it. The town and the diocese of St. Aga¬ 
tha also displayed their attachment to their former bishop. 
Prayers were said for him throughout the diocese, and the 
Blessed Sacrament was exposed at mass in the cathedral 
on the morning after the news had arrived. Several bishops 
who were his friends, also offered up the holy sacrifice and 
got their flocks to pray for him. 

D. Joseph had at once left Naples and come to see him, 
accompanied by his wife and her uncle, the Prince of Pol- 
leca. They asked for his blessing, but there was much 
47 


554 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


difficulty in making him understand who they were and 
what they wanted ; however, he raised his hand and blessed 
them. D. Joseph asking him to give him some good ad¬ 
vice, he answered: “ Save your soul.” On seeing they did 
not go, he said to them : “ Be satisfied, it is finished ; you 
can go now.” 

The devil could not leave Alphonsus in peace. On the 
morning of the 25th, whilst mass was being celebrated, he 
said : “ He who sins is the enemy of God.” As the father 
saw he was tempted, he interrupted the mass and exhorted 
him to confide in the merits of Jesus Christ, and to have 
recourse to the Most Holy Virgin Mary; he then breathed 
freely again, and regained his serenity. He was tempted 
again towards the evening, and said : “ Do you wish to 
make me despair? ” The same father immediately reminded 
him of the passion of Jesus Christ and of Mary. When he 
heard of the merits of Jesus and Mary, he opened his eyes 
and listened attentively, and repeated distinctly the acts 
suggested to him. He then asked, “ What can I do in 
order to merit?” and receiving for answer: “ Do the will 
of God,” he remained silent, and at intervals was seen to 
fix his eyes on the picture of our Lady of Sorrows. 

Such great faintness came on about seven o’clock, that 
it was believed that the hour of his agony was approaching. 
The prayers for the dying were commenced, and he received 
the absolution. Whilst this took place he recovered his 
senses, gave his blessing, as he had been asked to do, to the 
doctor, the brother, and the servant, as also to all the houses 
and subjects of the Congregation. He was also reminded 
of the houses in the states which had caused him so much 
sorrow, and he raised his hand twice and blessed them 
also; and, as if the devil, like a skilful tactician, had seized 
this opportunity of assaulting him, at the end of half an 
hour he opened his eyes and said in a loud voice, so as to 
be distinctly heard in an adjoining room: “I bless the 
houses in the states.” After an interval he was asked to 
bless the diocese and the nuns of St. Agatha, and he moved 
his hand to signify that he blessed them, and afterwards he 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


555 


said in a loud and intelligible tone of voice, of his own 
accord : “ I bless the king, all the generals, the princes, 
and the ministers, and all the magistrates who administer 
justice.” 

The rector of the house then asked him if he wished to 
receive Jesus Christ. Full of joy at this, he replied : 
“Give me communion; yes, give me communion;” and 
as it was some time before they brought the Blessed Sacra¬ 
ment from the church, he several times repeated : “ Is com¬ 
munion coming?” On hearing a sound he opened his 
eyes, and seeing the priest with the holy ciborium, he ap¬ 
peared as if in an ecstacy, and began to make many acts of 
love, exclaiming in the transports of his devotion: “ My 
Jesus, do not leave me.” Some time afterwards a picture 
of Ven. Br. Gerard, to whom he had a special devotion, 
was presented to him; after having recognized what it was 
and looked at it for a moment, he said: “God does not 
will that he should cure me.” Mass being afterwards com¬ 
menced, he made the sign of the cross three times accord¬ 
ing to his custom, and distinctly pronounced the words 
the third time. Afterwards, a picture of the crucifixion 
being shown to him, he made a sign with his trembling 
hand that he wished to have it. He then put it to his lips, 
kissed it, and held it thus for some time, after which the 
delirium returned again. 

The large wound near his throat, from which he had suf¬ 
fered so much at Arienzo, re-opened during his illness, and 
rendered his condition an intensely painful one; but 
through his patience and resignation this accession of suf¬ 
fering only served to increase the splendor of his crown. 
Whilst in this painful state, God was pleased to glorify him 
by a miracle. A canon, who had been suffering from a 
complaint in the knee for three years, so as to be unable to 
walk without crutches, came to see him on the 24th, but 
he had scarcely taken leave of him when he felt that he 
was completely cured, and said to two priests he met at 
the door: “ I came here a cripple, and I go away perfectly 
healed; I secretly applied his lordship’s scapular, which 


556 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


was on his bolster, to my leg, and now I. am cured.” 
Up to this time he had tried several remedies, but without 
any success. 

On the morning of the 25th, the invalid was much bet¬ 
ter; he heard mass and communicated at day-break, after 
which two more masses were said for him, but in the mid¬ 
dle of the second he became perturbed. Some acts of love 
' and confidence in Jesus Christ were suggested to him, and 
he became calm again. Late in the evening of this day he 
appeared to be so faint that he was thought to be dying. 
The fathers hastened to aid him in his passage by their 
prayers, and began to say mass about two o’clock on the 
morning of the 26th. Holy communion was proposed to 
him, but he did not answer. At the Sanctus bell during 
the first mass he opened his eyes and looked at the cele¬ 
brant ; he aroused himself again at the elevation, looked at 
the altar and moved his lips. He had a fresh attack at 
three o’clock ; absolution was given to him, and the prayers 
for the dying were commenced, but he regained his senses 
at the end of the litanies. At a later period, as he mani¬ 
fested an ardent desire for communion, it was given to him, 
and during the following mass he continued to make his 
•thanksgiving, although he was extremely faint. Some time 
afterwards he asked for his rosary ; it was given to him, 
and his lips were seen to move while he recited it. 

Among the many gentlemen and ecclesiastics who came 
constantly to visit Alphonsus, was a great friend of his, F. 
Samuel, ex-provincial of the Capuchins at Arienzo. As his 
efforts to obtain the benediction of our saint had been in 
vain, he took his hand and raised it upon his head, making 
the sign of the cross with it; he touched also one of his ears 
which was diseased with it, and it was immediately healed. 
F. Buonapane, of his own Congregation, had suffered from 
an abscess in the throat for two days, and much apprehen¬ 
sion was felt as to the consequences; in the evening he 
applied a little piece of linen, which had been used in 
bandaging Alphonsus’ wounds, and the next morning the 
father was cured. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


557 


The 27th was a day of suffering to Alphonsus. At about 
seven in the morning he was suddenly seized with such a 
severe colic that he could not find any rest, and exclaimed: 
“Aid me. . . . Unbind me. . . . put me on the ground.” 
During the violence of these attacks, he several times fixed 
his eyes on the picture of the Most Holy Virgin Mary and said 
in a faint voice, “My Jesus.” Mortification had already 
commenced. A poultice being applied, when he felt that 
he was touched, he said in broken accents and with tears in 
his eyes, “They have touched me.” On the 28th, being 
interrogated as to whether he wished to hear mass and to 
communicate, he seemed quite joyous, and made a sign in 
the affirmative. He made the sign of the cross before 
communicating, and also made his preparation. He heard 
two masses during his thanksgiving. When afterwards 
preparations were made to rub him, he said quickly, “Do 
not touch me ;” but he at last submitted through obedience. 

As his mind was weakened and he was exhausted, he 
wished holy affections to be suggested to him from time to 
time; he took pleasure in them and repeated them in a 
faint tone of voice. Mortification went on increasing, and 
as his sufferings became greater they brought on frequent 
spasms, which caused the fathers who assisted him to stop 
speaking and to look on in compassion and silence; but 
dissatisfied that the aspirations were not suggested to him 
as before, he asked with a remnant of strength which his 
love gave him: “ Have you no more holy thoughts to sug¬ 
gest to me ?” His weakness increasing, the blessed candle 
was lighted and the prayers for the recommendation of the 
soul were commenced. He recovered however his senses, 
and a picture of the Blessed Virgin being given to him, he 
opened his eyes, and joining his hands in a praying atti¬ 
tude he kissed the picture, and recited an Ave Maria in a 
distinct voice. After this he seemed to be agitated, and 
putting his hand to his forehead he said: “My thoughts. 
. . . . Will you not Jet me rest?” At seven o’clock in 
the morning he seemed again dejected: the crucifix was 
presented to him; he took it, raised it to his lips, and 
47* 


55 8 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


holding it in his hands often opened his eyes to contem¬ 
plate it. A picture of Holy Mary was also given to him, 
and he was told to place his life and his soul in her hands; 
he then extended his arms to signify that he made the 
offering, and looking at the picture, he pronounced some 
words which were not understood. The following night 
he was better than before, and he slept quietly. However, 
on the following morning, the 29th, he was not in a state 
to communicate. Whilst mass was being said before him, 
he exclaimed: “What a number of foreign enemies?” 
The death of Jesus Christ being afterwards recalled to his 
mind, and it being suggested to him to make an offering to 
him of his own death, he listened attentively, raised his 
hands, clasped them together and moved his lips for some 
time. He turned then his eyes to a picture of the Blessed 
Virgin, and it being suggested to him to invoke her, he 
said an Ave Maria in a distinct voice. A picture of St. 
Joseph being also presented to him, he looked for some 
time at it, and recognizing it, he began to pronounce some 
words whilst keeping his eyes fixed on the picture of the 
spouse of Mary. 

A father beginning to suggest holy thoughts to him, Al- 
phonsus said of his own accord : “ Give me the picture of 
our Lady.” When he had it in his hand, he began to pray 
to her. The death-rattle then commenced, which never 
ceased till he was dead. A picture of the Blessed Virgin be¬ 
ing again placed in his hands, he kissed it, and slowly and 
with difficulty pronounced the words of the Ave Maria. 

His beard had become very long, and caused him great 
discomfort. A brother cut it off as well as he could, and 
Alphonsus seemed relieved. When the operation was 
over, these few hairs were eagerly sought for and kept as 
precious relics. He was extremely ill during the whole of 
the 29th, and nearly unconscious; about nine in the even¬ 
ing it was believed that his agony had commenced. The 
whole community surrounded his bed, and the prayers for 
the agonizing were commenced; but he came to himself 
again. He was again asked to bless all the Congregation, 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


559 


and as he could no longer raise his hand, he moved his 
head in acquiescence. On the morning of the 30th, several 
masses were celebrated, and it seemed that he wished for 
communion. F. Villani, however, would not allow it, as 
he feared that he was unable to swallow the Sacred Host. 
A Carmelite father came during the day to give him the 
last indulgence of the scapular. It sufficed to remind him 
of the sacred names of Jesus and Mary, or to give him a 
picture of his holy patrons, to make him quite collected. 
That of St. Michael being presented to him, he took it in 
his hands and kissed it, and gazing on it, moved his lips 
and recommended himself to the archangel. He also 
opened his eyes and was heard to murmur whilst the acts 
of faith, hope and charity were suggested to him. He also 
took in his hands a crucifix which was presented to him, 
pressed it with love, and three times endeavored to raise it 
to his mouth, but as he was unable to do it, a father assisted 
him to kiss it. At about eleven o’clock he took some 
spoonfuls of milk; after that he refused all that was offered 
to him. He preserved the use of his faculties during all 
that day and the following night, although so very weak, 
and was seen to assent to the holy affections which were 
suggested to him, either by opening his eyes or moving his 
lips. 

At about two o’clock on the morning of the 30th, as his 
agony was near at hand, masses were begun to be said in 
his room, in the church, and in the oratory. A crucifix 
was offered to him; he opened his eyes, looked at it, and 
took it in his hands. A picture of the Most Holy Virgin 
was also presented to him, and he looked at it with devo¬ 
tion. At about seven o’clock the crucifix being again pre¬ 
sented to him, he looked at it with tenderness. At about 
twelve he himself took into his hands a picture of the 
Blessed Virgin which he had at his breast; he kissed it and 
pressed it to his heart; he took it up again at about two, and 
held it for nearly a quarter of an hour. Afresh attack came 
on at three; it was believed to be the commencement of the 
agony, but he again came to himself. 


I 


560 LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 

The Blessed Virgin did not fail to assist and to console 
him in his last moments; it was a favor which he had ar¬ 
dently desired during life, and had unceasingly prayed her 
to grant him. His prayer was heard. He became worse 
every instant, but his peace and serenity were unaltera¬ 
ble. At about six o’clock, when he was being attended by 
two fathers and held a picture of the Blessed Virgin in his 
hand, his face suddenly became inflamed and resplendent, 
and a sweet smile overspread his lips. The same thing 
happened again before seven. A father put a picture of 
the Most Holy Virgin before him, and suggested to him to 
invoke her that he might have a good death; as soon as he 
heard the sweet name of Mary, he opened his eyes and 
looked at the picture, and seemed again to have a mysteri¬ 
ous interview with the Queen of Heaven. 

He was in a state of complete prostration throughout 
the whole of the following night, but he was always 
tranquil and serene. He was quite recollected, and list¬ 
ened with pleasure to the holy affections which were 
suggested to him. When the crucifix was presented to 
him, he endeavored to kiss it. On the morning of the 1st 
of August, when some compresses were applied to him, he 
caught hold of the sheets in order to cover himself. 

Masses were unceasingly celebrated, in the church, in 
the oratory, and in his room, from one o’clock in the morn¬ 
ing, his children trying to do a holy violence to heaven to 
obtain special assistance for the last moments of their com¬ 
mon father. He grew worse at half past nine. From the 
early part of the evening he clasped the crucifix, and as 
every one wished to have a crucifix which had been for 
some time in his dying hands, a fresh one was constantly 
substituted. The fathers continued to arrive from all the 
houses, and, as he had always wished to die among his 
dear brethren who would aid him to die well, Alphonsus, 
like another Jacob, entered into his last agony surrounded 
by his numerous children who were his joy and his crown. 
He seemed not so much to be struggling with death, as to 
be conversing with God in a prolonged ecstacy. No change 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


561 


was observed in his body, no oppression of breathing, no 
painful sigh ; but whilst holding a picture of the Blessed 
Virgin in his hands, and amidst the prayers and tears of his 
sons, Alphonsus gently and sweetly expired, or rather he 
tranquilly fell asleep in the arms of the Lord and of the 
Most Holy Virgin Mary, at the very moment when the bell 
was rung for the Angelus. 


CHAPTER XXXVII. 


The Ceremonies of the Interment. Many Miracles are 
wrought through the intercession of Alphonsus. The 
process of his Canonization. 

LPHONSUS Maria de Liguori died on the 1st of Au- 



Hl gust 1787, at about eleven o’clock A. M., and at the 
age of ninety years ten months and five days. He was of 
middle size, with a rather large head, and of a fresh com¬ 
plexion. He had a full forehead, pleasing azure blue eyes, 
an aquiline nose, a small mouth and smiling lips. His 
beard was thick and his hair black ; he kept them short, 
and often cut them himself. He was short-sighted and 
made use of glasses, but never in the pulpit or when 
he spoke to women. His voice was clear and sonorous; 
however spacious the church might be, and however long 
a mission might last, it never failed him, and it continued 
thus until his last infirmities. He had an imposing mien ; 
his manners were grave and gracious at the same time. 
His judgment was subtle and penetrating; his memory 
prompt and tenacious; and his mind precise and methodi¬ 
cal. He was of a passionate temper, but through virtue he 
became a model of sweetness. His whole life was one 
continual application; but he was never occupied about 
indifferent things, nor even about matters which were more 
curious than useful. 

No sooner had Alphonsus rendered up his pure soul to 


562 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


God, than the fathers foreseeing the enthusiasm of the peo¬ 
ple, applied to the commander of the royal cavalry, before 
ringing the knell, to have a detachment of horse to keep 
order at the door of the house. When the body was pro¬ 
perly placed on a bier, which was surrounded by a great 
many lights, in the part of the church destined for the 
confraternity of gentlemen, his death was announced by a 
little bell, to which all those in the other churches echoed, 
as Mgr. Sanfelice had ordered. The whole town was 
immediately thrown into a state of agitation, and crowds 
of people flocked to the church ; nobody was allowed 
to enter, and all had to be satisfied with having their 
rosaries, scapulars, and other objects of devotion applied to 
the saintly body. Several persons brought baskets of flow¬ 
ers, which they had strewed on the body, and then carried 
them away to distribute them as so many relics. 

When the fathers of the Congregation had paid their 
last homage to their common father by the recitation of 
the office for the dead, the fathers of St. Francis de Paul 
and the Carmelite fathers sang the Libera together. The 
missionary priests of the town then united together to 
chant the office in their turn, which was also followed by 
the Libera. During this time, a great number of gentle¬ 
men from the high town of Nocera arrived, with the com¬ 
mander and his staff. It was seven o’clock in the evening, 
yet they had the greatest difficulty in shutting the door. 

Mgr. Sanfelice had already made preparations to have 
the funeral conducted in the most solemn manner possible. 
He had settled that besides the chapter of the cathedral, 
the seminarists and clergy of Pagani, and all the religious 
and confraternities, should be invited to accompany the 
sacred remains in procession through the town, with military 
escort, to the Convent of the Poor Clares which is near 
the high town; and that after having consoled these reli¬ 
gious, as well as those of the Purity, by chanting the 
Libera in their respective churches, the funeral proces¬ 
sion should return by the same streets and with the same 
pomp: but the inhabitants of Pagani or the lower town, 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


563 


suspecting his lordship meant by some pious stratagem to 
transport Alphonsus’ remains to his cathedral, strongly op¬ 
posed the execution of this design. When he was return¬ 
ing to the palace in the evening, they stopped his carriage, 
and protested that they would not allow such a translation. 
The bishop solemnly asserted that they were wrong in their 
suspicions; but they did not believe him, and at eight 
o’clock in the evening the crowd were still assembled and 
in a state of great disturbance, and their minds became 
tranquillized only when the fathers themselves went to them 
and assured them that no such project was in contempla¬ 
tion. His lordship, however, fearing some tumult in which 
the venerated body might suffer, altered the arrangements 
he had before made, and determined that no invitations 
should be issued, and that the funeral should be conducted 
in the simplest manner possible. 

On the morning of the 2d of August the door could not be 
opened until after the arrival of a detachment of twenty 
soldiers. An immense concourse of people of all classes 
flocked from the adjacent places; they all ranged them¬ 
selves before the house, protesting that they wished to 
render homage to the saintly bishop and to have some of 
his relics. Besides Mgr. of Nocera, the chapter of the 
cathedral, the seminarists, the clergy of Pagani, the priests, 
and, amongst the regulars, the fathers of St. Francis of 
Paul and the Carmelites, arrived all of their own accord 
to honor the memory of Alphonsus. The ceremony was 
commenced by the clergy of Pagani, who sang the Libera , 
in which the canons of the cathedral and the regulars 
joined. During this time, as a number of altars had been 
erected on the preceding evening, a great many secular 
and regular priests offered up the holy sacrifice of the mass. 

When all was ready, Mgr. Sanfelice arranged the proces¬ 
sion. It was decided that it should not enter the town, 
but that it should go out by the door of the house, make a 
semi-circle before the monastery, and then return to the 
church ; the precious burden being carried on the shoulders 
of the rectors of four houses of the Congregation, preceded 


664 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


by all the clergy, and followed by Mgr. of Nocera, while 
the gentlemen and troops of the town made up the rear. 
When the body was deposited in the church, the can¬ 
ons chanted the office, Mgr. of Nocera assisting, and 
mass was celebrated by D. I. B. Villani, who was canon 
and vicar-general. D. F. Pinto, a canon and patrician of 
Salerno, afterwards bishop of Tricarico, preached the fune¬ 
ral sermon. As the church was too small to contain the 
crowd, care had been taken to place the pulpit near the 
door. The catafalque was not very high, as the church was 
too low to admit of it; the body was raised about six 
palms only from the ground, and this made it possible, after 
the office, to allow people to satisfy their wish to kiss it, to 
touch it with rosaries and to strew it with flowers. Br. Fr. 
Anthony and the servant Alexis stood at each side of the 
catafalque, and many mothers presented their children to 
them that they might touch the saint’s body. As they 
could not seize on any relics of it, it being surrounded by 
soldiers, every one enriched himself by carrying away some 
flowers or rosaries which had touched it. 

At this time a celebrated painter from Naples came to 
take the likeness of Alphonsus, without the fathers having 
sent for him. It was about eleven o’clock when he wished 
to form the cast, and there was the greatest difficulty in 
shutting the church. The body had preserved its bloom 
and appeared as if alive. When the cast was taken off, a 
part of the skin of the left nostril adhered to it, and a quan¬ 
tity of bright blood issued from it, which was eagerly col¬ 
lected in handkerchiefs. When the operation was over, 
the church was re-opened; and in the mean time a multi¬ 
tude of gentlemen of the neighboring places had arrived, so 
that all the ground in front of the house was crowded with 
carriages. There were also whole communities of regulars 
who formed part of the concourse. The fathers were insuf¬ 
ficient to distribute to all these devout persons pieces of the 
linen which Alphonsus had made use of; it was said that 
more than ten thousand people came to do honor to the 
ceremonies of this funeral. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


565 


At about seven o’clock in the evening, as Mgr. Sanfelice 
saw what a multitude of people there was, and feared 
some disagreement between them and the military, he or¬ 
dered the interment of the holy body, but it was not without 
much difficulty that the soldiers succeeded in emptying the 
church. Several gentlemen solicited the honor of taking 
the body down from the catafalque. It had remained there 
for thirty-three hours, and ye.t, notwithstanding the heat of 
the weather, and the mortification which had reached the 
flesh, the limbs remained flexible and emitted no unplea¬ 
sant smell. Mgr. of Nocera wished that an attempt should 
be made to draw blood from the body. It was done, first at 
the right arm, then at the head, and then at the jugular 
vein ; but without success, as Alphonsus had foretold long 
before his death: for, when it was related before him, that 
as the body of F. D. John Rizzi after his death would give 
no blood, the rector commanded it to flow, upon which the 
blood at once flowed—he smiled at the recital and said: 
“ When I am dead, such wonders need not be attempted, 
for I will yield no blood.” 

The holy remains were deposited in a leaden chest, which 
was sealed with six seals; four of the town of Pagani, and 
two of the Congregation. It was shut with three different 
keys: one was given to the Prince of PoIIeca, who assisted 
in the name of the nephews of Alphonsus; the second to 
the regents of the town ; and the third remained in the 
hands of the rector of the house. After these precautionary 
measures, the chest was deposited at the left side of the 
high altar, and the door of the vault was closed by a single 
slab of marble with the following inscription : 

“ Hie jacet corpus—Illustrissimi et Reverendisimi Dom¬ 
ini — D. Alphonsi de Liguorio—Episcopi S. Agatha Gotho- 
rum—et Fundatoris Congregations—Sanctissimi Redemp - 
toris.” 

On the following evening a fresh concourse .of people 
and persons of distinction arrived, from Nola, from Salerno, 
and other distant places; even from Ariano, which is two 
days journey from Nocera. As they found that the body 
48 


566 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


was already placed in the vault, they collected some re¬ 
mains of the mortar which had been used in fastening the 
stone, as if they were precious relics. Others, went away 
satisfied with having been able to touch the stone with 
their scapulars or rosaries. A great number of little child¬ 
ren did homage to Alphonsus’ sanctity, by kneeling down 
on it and kissing it with humility and devotion. 

God was not long in glorifying his servant: signal favors 
were obtained through his intercession on the very day of his 
funeral. D. Angela Tortora had suffered violent and fre¬ 
quent tooth-ache for a great number of years; when Al¬ 
phonsus was exposed on the catafalque, she applied a little 
piece of his vestment to her mouth, and she was instantly 
cured. Another woman had been nearly blind for some 
months; she had specks on her eyes and a great many 
pimples on her eyelids; she invoked Alphonsus while the 
funeral rites were being celebrated and was instantly 
cured. There was a woman who had suffered great pain in 
her side for three days; she had recourse to the saint, and, 
after having applied a morsel of his raiment to it, she was 
healed. The Abbot ofMontevergine had a diseased liver; 
he applied to his body a piece of the saint’s clothes and 
was also relieved. A lay sister in the Convent Della Purita 
had a sore on her leg, which had begun to mortify; she 
made use of a relic of Alphonsus, and u'as immediately in 
a state to wait on the community. In the village of Car- 
toli, there was a lady who had been for several years afflicted 
with a tertian fever, accompanied with pains in the whole 
body and obstinate vomitings, and she too was cured by 
the mere touch of his relics. 

Angela Oliviero, a nun at Naples, who was a former pen¬ 
itent of Alphonsus, and who had a great devotion to him, 
was inconsolable when she heard of his death. But whilst 
she was thus sorrowing, Alphonsus appeared to her in 
glory to console her. 

When his death became known at St. Agatha, the in¬ 
habitants of this town also resolved to fly to his patronage. 
A woman of this place who had been tormented by pain in 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


567 


the side for three days, had recourse to Alphonsusand was 
instantly cured. Another woman who suffered most acutely 
from tooth-ache, applied a thread of the saint’s vesture, and 
became perfectly free from all pain. Canon Lucca, who 
had suffered from violent colics, had no sooner made use 
of a letter of the saint than his pains disappeared. For 
some days the brother of a poor woman had been confined 
to bed by a high fever; he was ordered to take quinine, 
but as she could not command the sum it would have cost, 
in her distress she cast herself down on her knees and ex¬ 
claimed : “ My Blessed Lord, come to my aid, for I cannot 
aid myself.” Animated with confidence, she took some 
threads of linen which the saint had used and caused her 
brother to swallow them. The fever instantly ceased, and 
two days afterwards he was laboring in the fields. 

We pass over many other similar prodigies, and confine 
ourselves to the relation of the following striking miracle 
which took place in the church at Nocera during the cele¬ 
bration of the funeral rites. For ten days Joseph Maria 
Fusco, a child of rather more than a year old, had been suf¬ 
fering from a violent fever accompanied with dysentery, and 
all hope of saving him was abandoned. His aunt resolved to 
take the boy to the church, and she did so in spite of the 
opposition of her brother, of another relation, and of the 
mother, who feared that the sick child would die on the 
way. At first, the saintly body was touched with a rosary 
which was afterwards placed on the dying child, and then 
the mother, who had followed it, suddenly became filled 
with great confidence, and begged Br. Fr. Anthony to let 
her son’s face touch the body, which was scarcely done ere 
the child was cured. On the evening of Friday, the 3d of 
August, his uncle D. Gaetan Fusco, who was a priest, 
came to the house of the fathers and informed them of the 
miraculous cure of his nephew.. They had just then re¬ 
ceived some pictures of Alphonsus from Naples, and they 
gave one of them to D. Gaetan. Having carried it home, 
he sent for his nephew and held it out to him. After the 
little child had looked at it with attention, he seemed to be 


568 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


raised out of himself, and suddenly exclaimed: “Alphon- 
sus is in heaven !” His parents were filled with admiration; 
the little child became more animated and joyous, and re¬ 
peated, while pointing to the picture : “Alphonsus ! Alphon- 
sus! The saint! the saint!” then after again raising his 
hands and eyes to heaven, he exclaimed: “ The saint is in 
heaven ! the saint is in heaven !” This unanswerable tes¬ 
timony from the mouth of a child who had never before 
spoken, and was not even old enough to do so without a 
miracle, contributed greatly to spread Alphonsus’ renown 
every where ; and as God daily glorified his servant by fresh 
prodigies, crowds were seen coming to his tomb to implore 
his powerful intercession, or to make offerings to him in 
token of their gratitude. 

Thus the Lord had begun, (according to the promise: “ I 
will glorify him who hath glorified me,”) to glorify Alphon- 
sus in this world from which he had only wished to receive 
contempt; and he ordained that he whose whole life had 
been devoted to promote the Divine glory, should receive 
this kind of reward in full measure. Besides the solemn 
rites celebrated for him in the houses of his own Congre¬ 
gation, in the kingdom, in the pontifical states, and in Sicily; 
magnificent catafalques were erected, and obsequies, more 
like feasts than funeral rites, were celebrated in a great 
number of churches and dioceses where he had either per¬ 
sonally given proofs of his apostolical zeal, or was only 
known by fame and his writings. Cardinals, archbishops, 
bishops, archpriests, canons, religious and nuns without 
number, vied with each other in causing magnificent funeral 
preparations to be made in their respective churches, and 
in procuring the most renowned preachers to deliver dis¬ 
courses on the virtues and merits of the saintly apostle whom 
God had called to his reward; and on such occasions, the 
concourse of the clergy, the magistrates, the nobility, and 
the people in general, was every where immense, not to say 
prodigious. At Amalfi alone, the expenses of this cer¬ 
emony amounted to more than a hundred crowns. These 
solemnities, at which nothing was spared to enhance their 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


569 


pomp, were in many instances illustrated by miracles; 
God himself wishing thus to contribute to the glory of his 
servant. Among others, at Caposele, a lady who had 
suffered from a cataract for ten years, and had entirely lost 
her sight, caused herself to be led into the church from the de¬ 
sire to obtain her cure. She was full of confidence,and raising 
her voice before all present, she exclaimed : “Alphonsus, 

I will not believe that you are a saint and in heaven if you do 
not obtain this favor for 010..” Her prayer was heard, and she 
returned home glorifying him who had restored her sight. 
At Girgenti, in Sicily, there was a man who had been suf¬ 
fering from a great many infirmities for a long time, and 
having heard that the obsequies of the saintly bishop were 
being celebrated, he caused himself to be conveyed to the 
church, as he could not go on foot; when there, he recom¬ 
mended himself to the saint, and obtained a complete cure 
on the spot, which was visible to all present. 

Persons of all classes and from all parts eagerly sought 
to possess something of which he had made use. As soon 
as he had expired, his room was completely pillaged : gen¬ 
tlemen and persons of the highest rank did not scruple to 
carry off various things which their piety caused them to 
covet. The cloak which was torn into pieces at Amalfi ; 
the shirts and other articles of dress which were taken from 
him there as well as in other places, and for which new 
ones had been substituted ; the many pieces which had on 
innumerable occasions been rent off from the borders of 
his garments, when passing through crowds; beds in which 
he had slept; the rooms he had occupied—were all reli¬ 
giously regarded as precious relics, and God worked by 
their means a great many miracles. Among others, Mgr. 
Puoti, Archbishop of Amalfi, preserved a simple girdle 
which was quite worn out, but which Alphonsus had made 
use of when celebrating mass, as a valuable treasure; and 
as St. Anthony made use of the dress of palm leaves of St. 
Paul the hermit on solemn festivals, so the Archbishop 
made use of this girdle only when he officiated ponlifically. 
Canon Genga of Naples obtained one of the shirts of the 
48 * 


570 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


saint, and his house was from that time frequented by such 
a great concourse of people that the relic was soon divided 
into a thousand pieces, as each one wanted to have some 
portion of it. Amongst others, the Prince of Scilla carried 
off the collar as a precious treasure. Sister Mary Michael 
Grimaldi, a Dominicaness and one of Alphonsus’ penitents, 
of Lorrento, wrote the following lines to the fathers of the 
Congregation : “All those who are ill beg fo/ some threads 
of his soutane, as the famished poor entreat for a morsel 
of bread, and miraculous cures are every where effected by 
them.” 

The town of St. Agatha being inconsolable at not pos¬ 
sessing the mortal remains of its holy bishop, by way of 
amends a mitre of which Alphonsus had made use was 
given to the cathedral chapter. When the people saw it 
being taken there they all knelt down with uncovered heads; 
then they hurried to the church to kiss it, being full of ven¬ 
eration for their precious relic. All the canons and the 
clerks received it with the same respect: and the chapter 
returned the most grateful thanks for this inestimable trea¬ 
sure ; which they preserved with the greatest care, in mem¬ 
ory of their saintly prelate, and in the certain hope that it 
would one day become the relic of a canonized saint, who 
would deign to be the special advocate before God of the 
town, the chapter, and the whole diocese. 

A print seller, bv name Nunzio Petrini, anticipating the 
- great sale of likenesses of Alphonsus which would take place 
at his death, had taken pains to procure one of his portraits 
beforehand ; so that immediately after the decease of the ser¬ 
vant of God, the town of Naples and all the kingdom were 
full of prints of him, which were every where sought for with 
a holy avidity. The shop-keepers of Naples alone, asserted 
that more than sixty thousand were sold by them. The 
same eagerness for relics and pictures was manifested out 
of the kingdom, especially in the Roman states. Even at 
Varsovia, F. Hofbauer, wishing to satisfy the great number 
of persons who wanted to have these pictures, got several 
new plates engraved after the original at Naples. The 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


571 


same thing was done at Venice, where every one wished 
to possess a likeness of this servant of God. At Rome, 
several cardinals were eager to procure copies, which they 
honored as those of a saint. Cardinals Zurlo and Banditi 
were as eager as the rest, and placed his picture at the 
head of their beds, as that of a powerful protector. The sov¬ 
ereign pontiff, Pius VI, was presented by Cardinal Buon- 
compagno with a copy of the funeral sermon, composed by 
Joseph Cavallo of the Congregation of Pious Workmen, 
accompanied by a picture of the saint. When the Holy 
Father saw the picture, he kissed it with devotion, and 
held it to his forehead for some time with the greatest 
respect, saying: “He is a saint, and I doubt not that he is 
now in the enjoyment of the glories of heaven he then 
thanked the cardinal for the sermon and said : “ I will read 
it with much pleasure.” It was marvellous to see how as 
soon as one plate was worn out, another was instantly en¬ 
graved in a different style. Tramontana, the priest, alone, 
had a dozen of these portraits taken at his own expense, 
each one more beautiful than the last. 

The miracles We have already related were but the be¬ 
ginning of prodigies without number, by which God, in re¬ 
compense for the charity his servant had exercised on earth, 
deigned to glorify him by bestowing innumerable blessings 
through his intercession. We will relate some of the most 
striking of them. F. Francis d’Ottajano, of the reformed or¬ 
der of St. Francis, at Palermo, had been suffering since the 
month of November 1786, from a burning fever and a pain¬ 
ful cough. In spite of all remedies the fever got worse, and 
the sick man had already begun to spit blood and matter; 
and four of the first physicians of Naples, who were con¬ 
sulted, agreed in saying that he was in an incurable con¬ 
sumption. On seeing that no hope of his recovery was 
entertained, and that every one was afraid of coming near 
him on account of his contagious disease, he went to the 
house of an old aunt of his. He placed himself under the 
care of two doctors, who declared, in the month of July 
1787, that he was in the last stage of consumption. To 


572 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


this serious malady was added a retention of urine. When 
reduced to this extremity, the dying man, being animated 
by the account of the numerous miracles of Alphonsus, had 
recourse to his intercession, and said : “ If you are really 
dear to God, and if you enjoy beatitude in Paradise, obtain 
for me that I may not die of this malady, which renders me 
an object of horror.” He promised also to offer up to him 
a pound of wax every year, and to carry it himself to his 
tomb. He had scarcely finished his prayer, when he felt a 
sudden change ; and whereas all food had before caused him 
to feel nausea, he now ate with relish. After this lie had a 
quiet sleep, and, on awaking, he was perfectly cured. This 
was juridically deposed at Nocera, at the time the process 
was arranged; and for a number of years the religious contin¬ 
ued to enjoy good health, and every year, in all weather, was 
to be seen bringing his offering to the tomb of his benefactor. 

In the same monastery, there was a religious who laughed 
at the confidence which F. Francis had in Alphonsus, and 
often teased him on this subject, going so far as to ask how 
much the wax cost, and what use was made of it by his 
saintly advocate. Alphonsus was displeased at this con¬ 
duct; he appeared to him one night, and said to him in an 
indignant tone: “Audacious man! when will you cease 
to laugh at my servant?” The religious, seized with terror, 
replied that he had not done it with a bad intention, and 
that what he had said was nothing but a jest. “People do 
not jest in this manner,” answered Alphonsus, and in a 
threatening tone of voice, he added: “Go now to confes¬ 
sion, and never have the boldness to speak in this way 
again.” The religious was terrified ; he instantly jumped 
out of bed, and ran and cast himself at the feet of his con¬ 
fessor; the next morning he informed all the community 
of what had happened to him, and took good care never to 
repeat his jests again. 

In the year 1787, Vincent Cocca, a joiner at Foggia, 
was wounded in the chest by a knife. The injured part 
was cut away, but the wound remained incurable. He 
suffered for more than a year, and there was no further 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


573 


hope of his cure, as the doctors said that he was in a con¬ 
sumption. F. D. Joseph Stella went to see the sick man, 
gave him some threads of Alphonsus’ cassock, and assured 
him that if he had confidence in him he would be cured. 
The mother of the joiner, animated by a lively faith, took 
off all the bandages of the wound, and applied to it some 
threads of the holy garment. It was again uncovered a 
short time afterwards, when it was found to be healed, and 
the skin had grown over the holy relic; the sick man was 
quite cured, and recovered his former health. 

D. Catharine Biscotti, a Benedictine nun in the town of 
Diana, in the province of Salerno, was attacked by a bloody 
flux which caused her to suffer severely. After fourteen 
months suffering, the malady got so much worse that she 
had no rest day or night, and the doctor was much afraid 
that mortification had commenced. While in this state, 
she invoked Alphonsus and said: “Alphonsus Liguori, 
show me that you are really a saint, as is every where pro¬ 
claimed. You must deliver me from this malady; and as 
the process of your canonization will have to be drawn up, 
I promise you to bear witness to my cure juridically, and to 
have a mass and Te Deum sung in thanksgiving.” After 
this prayer the nun fell asleep, and on awaking, she found 
that she was perfectly cured. 

For fourteen days, D. Julian Jourdain, procurator-advo¬ 
cate at the tribunal of Lucere, had suffered from a malig¬ 
nant fever, and from the ninth day he had been unceasingly 
tormented by hiccough, and his death was expected every 
instant. His disconsolate sister entered her chamber, and 
there before a picture of Alphonsus began to pray, saying 
with faith : “ My countryman,” (the family of Jourdain 
came from Nocera,) “ I, a poor stranger, have recourse to 
you. You must spare my brother to me : I wish to obtain 
this favor.” After that, with greater confidence still, she 
took the picture and brought it to her brother, who took it, 
and placing it on his forehead, said : “ My Lord, succor 
me.” At the same instant the fever ceased, and the crisis 
was succeeded by a complete rocovery. 


574 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


At Foggia, D. Louisa Palatella, the wife of the lawyer 
D. Francis Xavier Massari, had been pregnant for eight 
months, when her child died in her womb. On hearing of 
the sad state she was in, a father of the Congregation ex¬ 
horted her to have recourse to Alphonsus with confidence. 
She did so, and on applying a picture of him to herself, 
she promised to offer him a pound of wax, and to support 
an abandoned girl, if he would heal her. Her delivery 
was pronounced to be, humanly speaking, impossible, and 
symptoms of death appeared after three days, but she did 
not lose confidence, and continued to hold the picture close 
to her. The said father encouraged her more and more, 
and at length she was delivered without the least accident. 

At Benevento, there was a poor woman who was very 
often afflicted by violent convulsions, which were so severe 
that one night she fell out of bed, and as she was alone in 
the house, she was unable to rise again. She had a picture 
of Alphonsus at the head of her bed, and she invoked him 
with confidence, as well as the Most Holy Virgin Mary. 
At the same moment, she saw the saint enter her room, 
accompanied by a most beautiful lady, who lifted her from 
the floor and laid her in bed again with the greatest com¬ 
passion. Alphonsus then sat down beside her and said: 

“ See, we have come to assist you, but you must go to con¬ 
fession to-morrow, your pains will be redoubled until then ; 
but when the confession is finished, they will cease.” At 
these words the lady and Alphonsus disappeared. When 
the morning had arrived the poor woman sent for F. An¬ 
thony Corrado, who found her in a very suffering state; 
but when the confession was finished, she was entirely free 
from pain. 

For thirty-four years Leopold Marino Rousseau, of Fog- 
gia, was tormented by a dysentery, which had reduced him 
to a mere skeleton. The malady grew worse and worse, 
and the doctors declared he could not live, and ordered 
extreme unction to be administered to him. When D. 
Paschal Rousseau was informed of the state his brother was 
in, he sent him two pictures, one of the Blessed Joseph of 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


575 


the Cross, and the other of Alphonsus. In the evening, 
they lit a lamp before the two pictures, and recommended 
the dying man to the two saints. At midnight, a bishop 
appeared before him clad in a rochet and an almuce ; he 
was little and bent; he inquired what was the matter with 
him. The sick man replied: “I have no strength, and I 
entreat the saints to pray to God to grant me deliverance 
from my wretched state.” The bishop then assumed quite 
a joyous manner, and answered : “ Have confidence and 
as the sick man’s entrails were supported by bandages, he 
went on to say : “ Take off this handkerchief, and you will 
feel better.” “How can I do so?” said the sick man, “I 
have not strength for it;” but as the bishop again told him 
to undo the bandage, he tried to do it, and perceived that 
it was already done; as he felt instant relief he called his 
daughter, and asked for a light, but he saw the bishop no 
more. The next morning he cast his eyes on Alphonsus’ 
picture, and said : “It is he who has cured me.” When 
the physicians came they found him quite recovered and 
free from fever. 

We will now mention a miracle of another kind, which 
happened to F. Louis of St. Catharine, apostolical mis¬ 
sionary in the Roman states. He wrote to the superior- 
general of the Congregation of the M. H. Redeemer: “I 
tried in vain to convert a great number of sinners who 
were living most obstinately in vice, and who told me they 
could not separate from the object of their passion ; I per¬ 
suaded them to recite an Ave to Mary Immaculate, praying 
her to extinguish these impure flames in them through the 
merits of Mgr. Liguori, who had exalted her so highly. 
After that they all came to me again, giving extraordinary 
proofs of conversion; they are now reformed and have led 
exemplary lives from that time. I had also the consolation 
of seeing this same method succeed with other sinners who 
nourished inveterate hatreds.” 

We forbear relating any more of the miracles wrought by 
the intercession of our saint, for they would fill volumes; 
we may say without the least exaggeration, that they may 


576 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


be numbered by thousands. Indeed, the Lord was truly 
lavish with such favors towards his servant, in order, un¬ 
doubtedly, the sooner to illuminate the Church, his house 
upon earth, by causing Alphonsus to be placed on her 
altars as a shining and burning light. 

No sooner had Alphonsus gone to receive his immortal 
crown than two verbal processes were drawn up by the or¬ 
dinary judges; the one at St. Agatha, and the other at 
Nocera, in order juridically to confirm his heroic virtues and 
the miracles wrought through his intercession. The acts 
of these processes were forthwith sent to Rome, to obtain 
the introduction of the cause of the beatification and ca¬ 
nonization. About the same time there were sent to Rome 
and duly registered, (without counting those that came too 
late,) four hundred and eight petitions, from cardinals, 
archbishops, bishops, vicars capitular, chapters of cathe¬ 
drals, collegiate establishments, religious bodies, magistrates 
of the highest rank, and from the king Ferdinand IV, 
earnestly entreating the Holy See for the commencement 
of the process. By a decree of the 9th of July 1794, the 
sovereign pontiff selected Cardinal Archinto as the reporter 
of the cause, D. Gaetan Cardone, of the Congregation of 
the M. H. Redeemer, being its postulator. On the 30th of 
April 1796, another decree was issued in order that the 
cause might be introduced. The calamities of the times 
and the exile of the Holy Father, it might have been ex¬ 
pected, would have put a stop to all proceedings, but it was 
not so. As early as the 27th of March 1802, Cardinal 
Caraccioli, who, in consequence of the death of Cardinal 
Archinto, had been substituted by Pope Pius YII on the 
6th of the same month as reporter of the case, issued a 
decree in favor of the validity of the apostolical process on the 
reputation of sanctity enjoyed by the servant of God. On the 
report of Cardinal Saluces, who took the place of Cardinal 
Caraccioli, the Sacred Congregation of Rites decided, on 
the 14th of May 1803, after a theological examination, that 
nothing was to be found in the printed or manuscript works 
of the venerable Alphonsus Liguori which was worthy of 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


577 


censure, and that therefore the proceedings might be con¬ 
tinued. On the 25th of June 1803, the Pope granted a 
dispensation from the decree of Urban VIII, which forbids 
any proceedings with regard to the special examination of 
the virtues of a servant of God to be entered upon until 
fifty years after his death, only sixteen having elapsed since 
the death of Alphonsus. The anti-preparatory , the prepar¬ 
atory , and the general Congregations of the Cardinals hav¬ 
ing previously been held at the Quirinal palace; on the 7th of 
May 1807, the feast of the Ascension, after having celebrated 
mass in his domestic chapel, and having assisted with the 
cardinals at the solemn mass in the basilica of St. John 
Lateran, the Holy Father published his solemn decree on 
the virtues of the servant of God ; proclaiming that Al¬ 
phonsus Maria Liguori had possessed the theological and 
cardinal virtues in a heroical degree. The extraordinary 
anti-preparatory Congregation for the examination of the 
miracles was to take place on the 25th of September 1809, 
but the captivity of the Pope, the dispersion of the cardi¬ 
nals, and the invasion of the Roman states, suspended the 
proceedings. They were resumed on the 28th of February 
1815, and on the 17th of September of the same year, the 
day on which the feast of our Lady of Sorrows was cele¬ 
brated throughout the whole Catholic Church for the first 
time, (this day having been selected on account of the 
great devotion of the servant of God for the sufferings of 
the Blessed Virgin,) the Pope, after having offered the Holy 
Sacrifice in his domestic chapel of the Quirinal, published 
his decree, by which he recognized two miracles of the 
second class, (related hereafter,) which had been effected 
through the intercession of the venerable Alphonsus Maria 
Liguori. On the 21st of December 1815, the feast of St. 
Thomas the Apostle, the Pope Pius VII, after having cel¬ 
ebrated mass in the chapel of the Quirinal, published the 
decree which permitted the proceedings regarding the 
solemn beatification of the venerable servant of God to be 
continued; and on the 26th of September 1816, he signed 
the brief of the beatification, conferring the title of Tfiz 
49 


578 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


Blessed on the illustrious Bishop, declaring that he is most 
assuredly in possession of the celestial glory, and that his 
relics and images might be exposed to the veneration of 
the faithful, authorising at the same time the dioceses of St. 
Agatha and of Nocera, as well as the Congregation of the 
Most Holy Redeemer, to celebrate yearly the mass in honor 
of the beatified. The ceremony of the beatification itself 
took place nine days afterwards, in the basilica of St. Peter, 
the whole being conducted with great pomp and splendor, 
only twenty-nine years and a few days over two months 
having elapsed since the blessed death of Alphonsus. 

God, who willed that his servant should be still more 
highly exalted, was not long in manifesting his will through 
fresh miracles worked by Alphonsus. Many new and il¬ 
lustrious solicitations were addressed to the court of Rome, 
requesting the continuation of the process for the canoni¬ 
zation of the servant of God ; they were assented to by the 
Sacred Congregation of Rites, and, on the 28th of February 
1818, Pius VII signed the decree which introduced the 
cause of the beatified for canonization. After this, Leo XII 
succeeded to Pius VII, and Pius VIII to Leo XII, F. 
Joseph Montone, the general procurator of the Congrega¬ 
tion of the Most Holy Redeemer, succeeded to the deceased 
Vincent Andrew Giattini, as postulator of the cause, and Car¬ 
dinal Odescalchito the deceased Cardinal Caraccioli, as re¬ 
porter; and, after due examination of the two fresh miracles 
(selected for that purpose amongst a great many others) in 
the extraordinary anti-preparatory, preparatory, and general 
Congregation of Cardinals, prelates and consulters, his 
Holiness Pius VIII approved and confirmed, by a solemn 
decree of the 3d of December 1829, (the feast of St. Francis 
Xavier,) which was published the same day in the church of 
the Jesuit fathers, the judicial declaration of the same two 
miracles, which are related hereafter. On the 16th of May 
1830, the 5th Sunday after Easter, after having celebrated the 
Holy Sacrifice in the chapel of the Quirinal, his Holiness 
declared that the solemn canonization of the Blessed Al¬ 
phonsus Maria de Liguori could be safely decreed, and 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


579 


ordered that this declaration should be published, and 
preserved among the acts of the Sacred Congregation of 
Rites, and that the apostolical letters should be prepared 
for the canonization, to be celebrated in due time in the 
basilica of the Vatican. The storm which Pius VIII had 
predicted in an encyclical, soon burst forth throughout all 
Europe; and this pontiff dying some months afterwards, 
Gregory XVI succeeded him, on the 2d of February 1831. 
To the political reasons which still existed and acted as 
hindrances to the canonization, was added the outlay which 
is entailed by the magnificent ceremonies which must al¬ 
ways accompany the canonization of the saints; but various 
subscriptions were set on foot to meet the expenses of the 
fete of the five saints who were to be canonized together, 
and at length the 26th of May 1839 was selected as the 
day for the canonization of these servants of God, Alphon- 
sus Maria de Liguori; Francis of Jerome, of the Company 
of Jesus; John Joseph of the Cross, of the reform of St. 
Peter of Alcantara; Pacificus of San Severino, a reformed 
Minor; and Veronica Juliana, a Cupuchiness: which took 
place accordingly on the said day with the utmost pomp 
and solemnity. Here follows the Bull which was given on 
the occasion. 


lull of tljf Cnitonijotion of $t. ^Ipljonstts 


GREGORY, 

Servant of the Servants of God, for a perpetual remembrance: 

Preface.— § 1. Sanctity and knowledge, ought, in the judg¬ 
ment of the Apostle of the Gentiles, so to adorn every bishop, to 
whose care the salvation of souls is entrusted, that, by the holiness 
of his life, he may be to the sheep committed to him as a shining 
light for running without stumbling the way of salvation, and 
may be able also to exhort them according to sound doctrine, and 
to convince the gainsayers. We know, that, from the earliest ages, 
there have been most excellent bishops, illustrious in both these 
respects, lively images of the Good Shepherd, who, “ being 
made a pattern of the flock from the heart,” have carefully and 
wisely watched over its safety, and, as a light set upon a candle¬ 
stick, were no less by the examples they gave of a spotless life, 
than by the excellence of their doctrine, the glory of the Church 
of God. 

§ 2. Alphonsus Maria Liguori appears to have been given by 
God to the Church in the last century, in order to renew this 
admirable example of a holy prelate. As he had from his early 
youth applied himself to the practice of the Christian virtues, 
and especially as he possessed sacred knowledge in an eminent 
degree, he was called to fill the office of the episcopate, a charge 
by far the most weighty of all, in order that his labors in the field 
of the Lord, in which he had already, as a priest, shown himself 
a diligent laborer, might be yet more abundant and fruitful in 
good. But, by no means content that this his zeal for spreading 
the divine glory should be confined within the narrow limits of 
his own life, in order that he might leave successors in this min¬ 
istry of salvation to the most distant ages, he founded a Congre¬ 
gation of priests, who, inflamed with the same zeal, should de- 



LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


581 


vote all their labors and care to the furthering the salvation of 
souls. And, as it has been clearly shown, that the admirable 
virtues of Alphonsus, which have been examined with the usual 
judicial severity, reached the highest degree of Christian perfec¬ 
tion, and it appears that the miracles, by which God, the author 
of all good, has manifested the sanctity of his servant, have been 
duly verified; by virtue of the apostolical authority which has 
been divinely committed to us, though unworthy, and on the 
advice ol the fathers the cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, 
as also of the patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops, who were 
present in Rome at that time in great number, we have judged, 
and do by the present letters ordain, that the honors paid to saints 
be rendered to the Blessed Alphonsus Liguori, by the whole 
Church, and that his intercession with God be invoked. 

§ 3. Alphonsus was born at Naples, of noble parents, on the 
5th day of October 1696. Being endowed with a wonderful 
vivacity of mind, he applied himself, when he had scarcely 
ceased to be a child, to the classics, then to the higher sciences, and 
afterwards to the study of the law, and had so happy a facility 
in learning, that he had hardly entered the sixteenth year of his 
age, when, after the usual examination, he received the degree 
of doctor of civil and canon law with great distinction. In 
deference to the wishes of his father, he entered into the profes¬ 
sion of the law, in the discharge of which though he led a pure 
and upright life, yet, because he found it to be full of cares and 
dangers, he determined to leave it, and entered into the service of 
the Church. Despising, therefore, a very splendid matrimonial 
alliance, and voluntarily and cheerfully renouncing, in favor of 
his brother, the ancestral fortune which belonged to him as the 
eldest son, he put utterly away from himself all care about 
earthly things. 

§ 4. Then being admitted to holy orders, and invested with 
the sacerdotal character, he exerted himself with all his strength 
to extend the glory of God everywhere, to sow in the hearts of 
men the seeds of virtue, and to root out the vices. As he was 
persuaded that no one will ever reap much fruit from his apos¬ 
tolic labors unless he practise as well as teach, he proposed to 
himself in the beginning as a thing to be insisted upon, that by 
the exercise of every virtue he should show himself as a minister 
of God and a dispenser of his mysteries. He most vigilantly 
guarded that chastity which he had long before vowed to God, 
constantly having in view, in every motion of his mind aud 

49 * 


582 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


body, the preserving it free from the slightest stains, and, in 
order that he might be sure to succeed in this aim, he placed 
it with perfect confidence under the protection of the Mo¬ 
ther of God. His love of God was so ardent, that he kept 
his mind continually fixed upon him, and he seemed to take de¬ 
light in nothing but in thinking and speaking of him. It is easy 
to understand with what ardent charity for his neighbor one so 
inflamed with the love of God must have burned. Wherefore, 
he never declined any labor or faiigue, when there was question 
of bringing back to the bosom of God men plunged in vice and 
laden with crimes. Hence, he very frequently visited the hos¬ 
pitals, in order to wait on the sick, and especially that he might 
be ready to assist those who were in danger of death : he heard 
confessions with the greatest patience, and often spent almost 
the whole day, and even the greatest part of the night, in this 
employment: he frequently preached to crowds of auditors, in 
language so earnest, that he triumphed over the obstinacy of the 
most abandoned, and, exposing to them the turpitude of the 
crimes in which they had become hardened, he excited in the 
hearts of his hearers such lively feelings of sorrow as to bring 
them to tears, and frequently the sacred edifice resounded with 
weeping and groanings. As he allowed himself no respite, day 
or night, but exerted all the powers of his mind and body in la¬ 
boring for the salvation of his neighbor, becoming at length 
weakened and broken down by these great and incessant efforts, 
he fell into a dangerous illness, from which, however, having 
recovered, by a signal favor from heaven, he again applied him¬ 
self to his labors of charity, with more alacrity than ever. 

§ 5. As soon as he knew that he was called, in the providence 
of God, to be the founder of a new religious Congregation, that 
there might be no lack of industrious laborers in so plentiful a 
harvest, he suffered himself to be deterred by no obstacles, how¬ 
ever great, from hastening the accomplishment of his undertak¬ 
ing, destined to be of such service to the Church. Relying, 
therefore, upon the divine assistance, he undertook the work, and 
happily succeeded in frustrating the designs and arts of the in¬ 
fernal enemy, striving to prevent the execution of his plans. 
Having united with himself twelve men of eminent piety, he 
laid the foundations of his religious Congregation, to which the 
name of the Most Holy Redeemer was given ; and he proposed 
to the members as their chief aim, the bringing back to the way 
of virtue, as well by their words as by their examples, the pro- 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


583 


fligate and abandoned, especially those among the peasantry 
who lived dispersed throughout the country. As the Congrega¬ 
tion spread in a short time, and in a wonderful manner, through¬ 
out the cities and provinces of Italy, he obtained from our pre¬ 
decessor, Benedict XIV, its confirmatipn, by virtue of his apos¬ 
tolical authority, and, being appointed rector-major, he excited 
his companions, by his own example, to the exercise of all vir¬ 
tues, in a manner truly wonderful. 

§ 6. He excelled, in an especial degree, in the virtue of humil¬ 
ity ; although every one had the highest opinion of his sanctity, 
and he was honored by the esteem of thq most distinguished 
men, yet he ever preserved a lowly opinion of himself, and 
deemed himself unworthy of all honor and consideration. He 
loved the Virgin Mother of God, as a son his mother, with a 
piety truly singular. He had the most ardent sentiments of love 
and veneration for the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, 
and often passed whole hours in succession in adoration hefore 
it, his soul, meanwhile, being filled with an ineffable sweetness. 
In order that he might, after the example of the Apostle, bring 
his body into subjection to the spirit, he continually treated it as 
a domestic enemy, and crucified it by all kinds of torments. He 
allowed himself so little food and drink, that it seemed scarcely 
sufficient to keep up his strength and support life, and even the 
wretched nourishment he took he was accustomed to season with 
the most bitter herbs, in order utterly to take away every occa¬ 
sion of sensual gratification. Moreover, he always wore the 
roughest hair shirts, and constantly afflicted his body with iron 
chains; he was accustomed to scourge himself with disciplines 
armed with sharp points, and that so severely, that the blood, 
flowing copiously from his mangled flesh, sprinkled the floor 
and the walls of his cell; he took great pains, however, to efface 
these bloody stains, that they might not lead to the discovery of 
his self-macerations. 

§ 7. But what is especially worthy of admiration, is, that, not¬ 
withstanding his constant labors in the apostolic ministry, and 
n the extent to which he chastised and weakened his body by every 
kind of torture, he was able, nevertheless, to find so much time 
for, and to apply with so great alacrity of mind to, the study of 
sacred things, as greatly to enrich the Church by the production 
of many equally learned and laborious works. Indeed, that he 
might consecrate himself and his whole life to the divine service, 
he made the very difficult and till then almost unheard of vow. 


584 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


never to alk>w even the least instant of time to pass idly by, but to 
employ every moment usefully. Thus he was enabled to pro¬ 
duce a great number of works, having for their several objects 
the support of morality, the more perfect instruction ol the min¬ 
isters of the sanctuary, the establishing the truth of the Catholic 
religion, the asserting the rights of the Holy See, and finally, the 
awakening piety in the hearts of Christians. In these productions 
we must admire the unusual fervor, the richness and variety of 
attainment, the striking proofs of the pastoral solicitude, and the 
ardent zeal for the interests of religion, which he discovers. But 
this is specially worthy of note, that, although he wrote so vast 
a number of works, it has nevertheless been found, upon the 
strict examination which has been instituted in regard to them, 
that they may be read by the faithful without the least fear of 
finding the smallest error in them. 

§ 8. As Alphonsus possessed so great a reputation for holiness 
and learning, he was raised to the episcopal see of St. Agatha of 
the Goths, by Clement XIII. The holy man dreaded the being 
loaded with so heavy a burden, and made use of every means to 
escape it; but when he had perceived the wiil of God in that of 
the Pontilf, he concluded, with a ready and undaunted mind, to 
submit, and to undertake, confiding in the divine assistance, the 
charge, which his humility made him feel was beyond his 
strength. 

§ 9. It is indeed difficult to express with how great care and 
earnestness he strove to fulfil all the pastoral functions of his 
office: he watched assiduously over the flock which had been 
committed to his charge, and look every pains, that not even one 
of the sheep entrusted to him should perish. Neither did he re¬ 
lax, in any respect, his very austere mode of life, on account of 
his new dignity: he avoided all sumptuousness in food and 
clothing; there was nothing in his palace, nothing in his furni¬ 
ture, which was superfluous or luxurious. He loved the poor 
with singular affection, and profusely distributed to them food, 
clothing, and alms; he even did not hesitate to sell,on one occa¬ 
sion, his golden cross and episcopal ring, in order to relieve their 
distress. He was in the habit of giving dowries to young wo¬ 
men, out of his own income, to enable them to marry, and of 
maintaining at his own expense such young clerics in the study 
of the liberal arts, as, on account of their humble birth, were 
suffering from poverty. He opened convents for virgins wishing 
to consecrate themselves to God, and houses of refuge for poor 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


585 


women who were in danger of losing their innocence. Not being 
deterred, in the visitation of his diocese, by any difficulties of the 
roads or inclemency of the season, he sedulously visited the little 
towns situated on the tops of mountains, and the people dispersed 
throughout the country, and with words full of ardor he excited 
them to the love of virtue, and he withheld them from the com¬ 
mission of sin. But it was with regard to priests and young 
men preparing for the sacred ministry, that he took especial care. 
With what great diligence did he not labor, that they might grow 
up in piety while yet in early youth, and be rightly imbued with 
the sacred sciences especially, so as to become, at length, fit in¬ 
struments for the ministry of the altar, and for the guidance of 
the faithful. But it must be said, that it was the life of their 
saintly pastor which had the greatest effect in enkindling their 
minds, inasmuch as, beholding his manner of living, they had 
before their eyes the most illustrious examples of continency, of 
religion, of poverty, in a word, of all those virtues with which a 
priest should be adorned and enriched, if he would contribute 
any thing to the common good of the Church. 

§ 10. After having for thirteen years given an example of all 
pastoral solicitude and vigilance in the government of the Church 
which had been confided to his care, as he was now laden with 
years and become infirm, he resigned (having several times be¬ 
sought our predecessor, Pius VI, for, and at length obtained, 
permission,) the charge which he found so heavy. But having 
betaken himself, thus free from the duties of the episcopate, to 
the society of the brothers of his Congregation, he devoted the 
remainder of his life, not to a well-earned repose, but to fresh 
cares and labors, even in his most advanced age. Thus, he was 
always engaged in writing something which he knew would be 
of use to the faithful, and never ceased preaching, that he might 
reform the morals of men, and, as far as lay in his power, inflame 
them with the love of virtue. 

§ 11. When he had at length reached his ninety-first year, 
pressed down with the weight of his age now rapidly approach¬ 
ing its term, he fell grievously ill. Having endured with incredi¬ 
ble patience the excruciating pains of his disease, and most 
earnestly exhorted the members of the religious Congregation 
of which he was the founder to the utmost zeal in the pur¬ 
suit of virtue, he was refreshed with the viaticum of the Most 
Holy Eucharist, and fortified with extreme unction. After he 
had most devoutly received these sacraments of the Church, his 


586 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


soul filled with joy and gladness, and desiring nothing more 
ardently than that, loosed from the prison of the body, it might 
be with Christ, fled, in perfect peace, into the bosom of its God. 

§ 12. As soon as the report of Alphonsus* death was spread 
abroad, an immense concourse of people flocked to his coffin, 
mourning for the loss of one so dear to them, and striving, 
through devotion and veneration, to possess themselves of some¬ 
thing which had been used by him during his life. Nor was 
there wanting the fame of miracles, by which the almighty and 
good God manifested in the sight of all the exceeding sanctity of 
his servant. Which prodigies being made known far and near, 
the high reputation his virtues had for a long time won for him 
became increased in a wonderful degree, and several princes and 
other persons high in dignity, as well as a great number of re¬ 
ligious orders, earnestly besought the sovereign pontiff, Pius VI, 
that judicial proceedings might be commenced regarding the 
saintly life of Alphonsus. The process having been gone through 
with in the usual manner, and the works which he had published 
having been most carefully examined and scrutinized with the 
greatest severity, Pius VII, our predecessor, after hearing the 
opinion of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, published a decree, 
on the nones of May 1807, in which he declared, that it was 
certain that the venerable Alphonsus Maria Liguori had prac¬ 
tised, in a heroic degree, the theological and cardinal virtues, 
together with all which depend on and spring from them. 

§ 13. After this, they proceeded, in the said Sacred Congrega¬ 
tion, to the examination of the miracles which were said to have 
been wrought by Almighty God, at the intercession of the vene¬ 
rable Alphonsus. Among this number there were two, in particu¬ 
lar, of the second class, which were judged certain and incon- 
testible: that is to say, the instantaneous cure of Magdalene of 
Nuncio, who, being at the point of death, a great part of her 
breast having been amputated by reason of a gangrenous ulcer, 
invoked the aid of Alphonsus, upon which she arose, contrary 
to the expectation of all, perfectly healed, and her breast became 
quite whole again: the other was the cure, likewise instantaneous 
and perfect, of Francis of Octajano, of the order of Reformed 
Minors of St. Francis, who was in the last stage of consumption, 
and utterly exhausted, so that his recovery was despaired of; but 
after he had prayed to the venerable Alphonsus for several days, 
he was suddenly cured, and every trace of his former malady 
disappeared. However, Pius VII, of holy memory, judged that 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


587 


he ought to delay pronouncing any decision in a matter of so 
great importance, in order to implore more additional light from 
God by more ardent prayers. At length, on the 16th of the 
kalends of October 1815, the day consecrated to our Lady of 
Dolors, the memory of whose sorrows Alphonsus had ever af¬ 
fectionately and piously cherished during his life, the same pon¬ 
tiff pronounced his judgment, and issued a decree, in which the 
two above related cures were declared to be true miracles. 
Finally, after having heard the opinion of the same Sacred Con¬ 
gregation, he issued, on the 12th of the kalends of January 1815, 
pontifical letters, in which he ordained the beatification of the 
venerable Alphonsus Maria Liguori, which was celebrated with 
the greatest pomp and splendor, in the basilica of the Vatican, 
on the 16th of the kalends of September 1816. 

$ 14. But after the honors of public veneration had been ren¬ 
dered to the venerable Alphonsus, many others experienced his 
aid in present danger, and it was clearly seen that God had 
willed, in his goodness, to reward the faithful steward of his 
house with a measure of honor among men, proportionate to 
the greatness of the care and pains taken by the holy prelate to 
extend the glory of the divine name. Being struck with the 
greatness of these miracles, Ferdinand I, the most pious king of 
the two Sicilies, and many other princes, together with the most 
of the cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, of the archbishops 
and bishops, as well as the religious orders, and especially the 
Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, which justly glories 
in having Alphonsus as its founder, earnestly besought Pius VII 
that the Sacred Congregation of Rites might commence at once 
the process of the canonization of the Blessed Alphonsus. The 
same pontiff, our predecessor, received their entreaties most fa¬ 
vorably, and an inquiry was instituted concerning the authen¬ 
ticity of the recent miracles; and, after a long deliberation, two 
were found to be without all doubt: namely, the sudden and 
perfect cure of Antoinette Tarsia, who, having fallen, loaded 
with a heavy burden, from an elevated place, was brought to the 
point of death, in consequence of the very grievous injuries she 
received in the abdomen, but, after having earnestly implored 
the aid of the Blessed Alphonsus, suddenly arose perfectly cured, 
to the utter astonishment of all who were present. The other 
was the instantaneous cure of Peter Canalis, a professed lay 
brother of the Congregation of Camaldules; he was suffering 
most severely from a deep, hard, and mortified ulcer, which 


588 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


every remedy seemed only to irritate more and more, so that, 
having abandoned all hope of recovery, he was expecting death 
every hour. When he had for several days besought the Blessed 
Alphonsus to deliver him from a death which seemed inevitable, 
he obtained his desire, recovering on a sudden (without the least 
trace of the ulcer remaining) his health, the loss of which he had 
so long deplored. 

§ 15. The truly wonderful cures we have cited having been 
judicially confirmed, our predecessor, Pius VIII, issued a decree 
on the 3d of the nones of December 1829, acknowledging their 
authenticity. Afterwards, when it had been discussed in the 
usual manner in the Sacred Congregation of Rites whether the 
solemn canonization of the Blessed Alphonsus could safely be pro¬ 
ceeded with, and whether none of the conditions, which, accord¬ 
ing to the custom of the Holy See are required, were wanting, the 
same sovereign pontiff, Pius VIII, declared, after having cele¬ 
brated the Holy Sacrifice in the chapel of the palace of the 
Q,uirinal,on the 17th of the kalends of June 1830, being the 5th 
Sunday after Easter, that the aforesaid canonization might be 
proceeded with in safety. Being desirous to put this decree into 
execution, and readily yielding to the wishes of the Congregation 
of the M. H. Redeemer, we first conferred upon the matter with 
the whole college of our venerable brothers the cardinals of the 
holy Roman Church, in a secret consistory held on the 4th of the 
ides of December 1838, who unanimously agreed that the honors 
paid to saints should be conferred on the Blessed Alphonsus 
Maria Liguori. We afterwards assembled a great number of our 
venerable brothers the archbishops and bishops, for the delibera¬ 
tion of this important matter, and submitted to their judgment the 
whole series of acts comprising the virtues and miracles of the 
Blessed Alphonsus, which we did by word of mouth, in the public 
consistory, in which our beloved son Anthony Maria Cagiano 
d’Azevedo, the advocate of our consistorial court, defended the 
cause of the beatified, and also in writing, that is to say, by pre¬ 
senting to them an accurate account of the acts taken from the 
authentic records of the Sacred Congregation. After that, we 
convoked before us, on the 8th of the ides of May, a semi-public 
consistory, to which we summoned not only our venerable bro¬ 
thers the cardinals of the holy Roman Church, but also our ven¬ 
erable brothers the patriarchs, archbishops and bishops, who 
were then present in Rome, and asked them whether they were 
of opinion that the Blessed Alphonsus ought to be inscribed in 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


589 


the catalogue of the saints. As they unanimously replied in the 
affirmative, and even expressed the most lively wish to see this 
honor conferred upon the Blessed Alphonsus, we ordered that a 
public instrument of this their verdict should be made by our be¬ 
loved sons, the notaries of the Apostolic See, and that the suf¬ 
frages of our venerable brothers, after having been committed to 
writing and signed by themselves^should be preserved in the 
archives of the Roman Church. Nevertheless, we thought it 
right still to defer pronouncing a definitive sentence in so weighty 
a matter, until, having fixed on days for solemn feasts in Rome, 
and also pointed out churches in which the faithful might offer 
up prayers to God, we should obtain from the Father of lights 
more abundant rays of his wisdom. 

§ 16. The 7th day of the kalends of June having been at length 
fixed upon for the solemn canonization of the Blessed Alphonsus, 
and also that of the Blessed Francis Jerome, of the Society of 
Jesus; John Joseph of the Cross, of the order of the Discalceated 
Minors of St. Peter of Alcantara; Pacificus, of St. Severino, 
of the order of Minors of the Reformed Observance; and Ver¬ 
onica Juliana, Abbess of the Capuchinesses, we repaired with 
solemn ceremony to the Vatican, accompanied by the whole of 
the secular clergy and the religious orders, by the dignitaries and 
officers of the Roman court and of our palace, finally, by the 
aforesaid our venerable brothers, the cardinals of the holy Roman 
Church, the patriarchs, archbishops and bishops. Before we 
ascended the altar to celebrate the holy mysteries, our blessed son 
Aloysias Lambruschini, cardinal priest of the holy Roman 
Church, of the title of St. Callistus, again most humbly pre¬ 
sented to us by the advocate of the consistorial court, the prayers 
of the Christian princes, prelates and people, that the Blessed 
Alphonsus might be placed in the number of the saints, and 
prostrating ourselves, we implored the choirs of angels and all 
the heavenly court to assist us; then, upon the iteration of the 
same prayers aforesaid, we ardently besought the Holy Spirit, 
that he would by his divine power strengthen us, now about to 
pronounce our final decision. Finally, upon the prayers of the 
poslulator of the cause being repeated for the third time with 
great earnestness, and much more in consideration of the wishes 
of the whole Church, and of the suffrages which the prelates, 
aided by God had given, after the very rigid examination which 
had been instituted in so important a matter, we, by virtue of the 
apostolical authority, which, notwithstanding our unworthiness, 
50 


590 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


has been given us as successor of St. Peter, the prince of the 
Apostles, in the supreme government of the Church., to the praise 
of the holy and indivisible Trinity, for the honor and glory of the 
Catholic faith and of religion, pronounced our solemn and defini¬ 
tive sentence, and placed the Blessed Alphonsus Maria Liguori, 
so distinguished for the lustre of his Christian virtues and the 
splendor of his miracles, among the number of the holy confes¬ 
sor-bishops, and appointed the 4th of the nones of August for 
the celebration of his memory by the Universal Church. More¬ 
over, we have accorded to those who shall visit on this day the 
tomb of St. Alphonsus, and, on the appointed days the bodies of 
the other saints, an indulgence of seven years and as many 
quarantines. 

§ 17. We then offered up to God the Father the Immaculate 
Lamb, on the great altar of the basilica of the Vatican. Finally, 
having affectionately given to the assembled multitude, from the 
height of the upper balcony of the same basilica, our solemn 
benediction, we granted in the Lord, a plenary indulgence to all 
the faithful, as well those present at the bendiction, as to those 
who had assisted at the ceremony of the canonization.* 

* Besides this special indulgence for the canonization, the Holy 
Father granted the following in perpetuity: 

GREGORY XVI, POPE, 

For a Perpetual Remembrance. 

Among the brightest lights and ornaments of the Catholic Church, 
St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori shines forth pre-eminently, who, re¬ 
nowned for his doctrine .and sanctity, and inflamed with an ardent 
f harity, having in view, in the admirable examples he gave of all vir¬ 
tues, and in his very numerous works which are replete with learning 
and piety, only the glory of God and the spiritual welfare of his 
tellow-men, haying received the crown at the end of a most holy life, 
possesses now the palm of glory, and triumphs with God in heaven. In 
order therefore to increase the piety and devotion of the faithful towards 
t iis great saint more and more, we have most willingly consented to 
unlock the ecclesiastical treasures of the Church. Wherefore, yielding 
! > the request of our beloved son John Camillus Ripoli, priest and rec- 
ior-major, as we are assured, of the Congregation of the Most Holy 
1'edeemer, founded by this saint, and trusting to the mercy of Almighty 
t rod and in reliance on the authority of his Blessed Apostles Peter and 
r> ml, we grant in the Lord, to each and all of the faithful of Christ, of 
o t ier sex, who, being truly contrite shall, after having confessed and 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


591 


§ 18. It is therefore meet and right that we give up our hearts 
to sentiments of rejoicing, and that we render worthy thanks to 
Almighty God, who does not cease to give his Church fresh ex¬ 
amples of virtue, in order that we may be excited by them to 
walk with more ardor in the way of salvation. Wherefore, en¬ 
compassed as we are bv so many and so great perils, and assailed 
on all sides by so many malicious enemies, let us implore St. Al- 
phonsus to be our intercessor with God, that, by the divine as¬ 
sistance, we may one day obtain in heaven the palm of victory 
prepared for those who conquer, and that crown of glory which 
l’adeth not away. 

§ 19. In order that the memory of this most happy event may 
never be obliterated by any length of time, we have recorded and 
confirmed it by these apostolic letters, ordaining that copies of 
them bearing the signature of a public notary, and the seal of 
some dignitary of the Church, shall have, when shown, the 
same authority as these present letters themselves. 

$ 20- Let no one, therefore, impugn or rashly gainsay our 
will and decree, set forth in these letters. But if any one should 
have the presumption to attempt to do so, let him know that he 

received Holy Communion, devoutly visit any one of the churches of 
the said Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, on the feast of the 
said St. Aiphonsus Maria Liguori, from the time of the first vespers, 
or on any one day, at choice, within the octave of the feast, and shall 
there offer up prayers to God for concord among Christian princes, for 
the extirpation of heresy, and for the exaltation of our holy Mother 
the Church, a plenary indulgence and remission of all sins, once every 
year, whieh may be applied by way of suffrage, to the souls of the 
faithful departed. The present concession is made in perpetuity, not¬ 
withstanding all obstacles. 

Given at St. Peter’s at Rome, under the seal of the Fisherman, on 
the 10th of January, 1840, in the ninth year of our pontificate. 

A. Lambruschini. 

This is a faithful copy of the original, 

John Camillus Ripoli, 

Rector-major of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. 

We have seen it, and allow it to be published. Given at Liege, on 
the 7th of April, 1840. 

f Cornelius, Bishop of Liege. 

By order, E. Bremans, Secretary. 


592 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


will incur the indignation of Almighty God, and of his Blessed 
Apostles, Peter and Paul. 

Given at St. Peter’s at Rome, in the year of the Incarnation of 
our Lord, 1839, on the 7th of the kalends of June, in the ninth 
year of our pontificate. 

Besides the special indulgence for the canonization, the 
Holy Father granted in perpetuity, on the 10th of January 
1840,* to each and all of the faithful of both sexes, who, 
being truly contrite, shall, after having confessed and com¬ 
municated, devoutly visit one of the churches of the Con¬ 
gregation of the Most Holy Redeemer on the feast of St. 
Alphonsus, from the time of the first vespers or on any one 
of the seven clays following, a plenary indulgence and re¬ 
mission of all sins once every year, which shall be applica¬ 
ble to the souls in purgatory, provided they pray for unity 
amongst Christian princes, for the extirpation of heresy, 
and the exaltation of their Mother the Church. 

His Holiness, Gregory XVI, by a decree of the 10th of 
Sept., 1839, not only allowed, but prescribed, that the feast of 
St. Alphonsus should be celebrated throughout the world 
by all those obliged to say the breviary, and by the faithful 
in general, under the rite of duplex minor; inserting his 
name in the ecclesiastical calendar. 

The inhabitants of Naples, moreover, entertaining the 
most lively desire of numbering this new hero, their for¬ 
mer townsman and apostle, as one of their saintly patrons, 
on the 4th of July 1839, the authorities, in answer to a 
petition of the fathers of the Congregation of the Most Holy 
Redeemer presented on the 25th of June of the same year, 
declared him patron of the said city. This decree received 
the sanction of the sovereign, with the consent of the eccle¬ 
siastical authorities, and the syndic was authorized to make 
the needful arrangements. In consequence, according to 
the decrees of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, a fete 
took place in the church of the Congregation of St. An¬ 
thony, which, (after the first ceremonies were gone through 


See Note, p. 590. 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


593 


on the 15th of August 1840) commenced on the following 
day, and lasted for nine days. On the 24th of the same 
month, a silver statue containing a relic of the saint, pre¬ 
sented by the Congregation to the town, was carried in 
procession to the cathedral, with extraordinary pomp and 
solemnity, where, after all the ceremonies had been gone 
through, it was placed with that of St. Januarius, the first 
patron of the town, on the altar of the chapel of the trea¬ 
sury ; the fathers of the Congregation of the Most Holy 
Redeemer being authorized to come in procession for the 
statue of their saintly founder each year on his feast day, 
after giving an assurance that they would bring it back 
again in the same manner. It is impossible to find words 
to describe the prodigious concourse of people that assem¬ 
bled together to witness this religious pomp ; they filled 
the streets, the public squares, the balconies and even the 
roofs of the houses. The king and the queen, the queen 
mother, and all the royal family, saw the progress of the 
procession from the balcony of the royal palace, with most 
religious attention. The eminently religious spirit of the 
king had led him before to the foot of the altar of Alphon- 
sus. He went thither privately on the first day, accompa¬ 
nied by his august spouse, and heard two masses, to 
the great edification of all present; he returned again on 
the last evening, accompanied by the queen and his royal 
highness the count of Aquila. Her majesty, the queen’s 
mother, also visited the church to honor in person the hero 
whose triumph was being celebrated; she went there on 
the 17th, the 19th and the 22d, and on the last occasion 
she was accompanied by the princess royal. On the same 
day, their royal highnesses the prince and pirncess of Saler¬ 
no, and their august daughter, came to crown this religious 
homage with their presence. 

Were it allowed to desire any further addition to the 
glories of St. Alphonsus, it would be that of seeing him 
declared Doctor by the head of the Church; to the obtain¬ 
ing of which title our saint appears to have fulfilled the 
necessary conditions. The following are the conditions, 
50* 


594 


LIFE OF ST. ALPHONSUS. 


which, according to Benedict XIV, the Church inquires 
for this honorable distinction, viz: eminent knowledge, 
great sanctity, and the declaration of the Church. Now, 
who can fail to perceive that Alphonsus had all these 
qualifications necessary for obtaining the honor of this title ? 
Benedict VIII says that eminent learning is proved by com¬ 
bating heretics victoriously, by clearing up obscure and 
doubtful questions, and by setting forth Holy Scripture with 
clearness. Have not the works of Alphonsus on heresies 
and against heretics, all the pages of his Moral Theology 
and his commentary on the Psalms, (not to speak of his 
numerous ascetical writings,) perfectly fulfiled these condi¬ 
tions? and have not the sovereign pontiffs themselves, sev¬ 
eral times declared that the learning and sanctity of this 
servant of God were carried by him to an eminent degree ? 
It rests therefore only with the Vicar of Jesus Christ to add 
this additional glory to the crown of the new confessor 
pontiff. 





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to meet the increasing demand for the work, the publishers have deemed it expedient 
to issue an American edition. 

Advantage has been taken of the present favorable opportunity, of having the 
work carefully revised and improved. Experience had shown that the answers were 
generally much too long for a work in the catechetical form, and consequently the 
task of committing them to memory was rendered unnecessarily difficult- To ob¬ 
viate this objection many of the answers have been divided and sub-divided by the 
introduction of additional questions, thus rendering the labor of preparing the les¬ 
sons much easier for the pupil. 

Just published, in 1 vol. 12mo., price 50 cents. 

Elementary Algebra, by B. Sestini, S. J., Professor of 

Natural Philosophy and Astronomy in Georgetown College. 

To render the Science of Algebra intelligible to pupils whose minds are yet unac¬ 
customed to such studies, is not an easy task. For should the instructor subject 
every principle, as it is announced, to a rigorous demonstration, he will very pro¬ 
bably not be comprehended; while, on the other hand, inconclusive reasoning is 
worse than none at all. 

To obviate this difficulty has been the main object of the present treatise. The 
beginner will here be furnished with such proofs as are suited to his capacity; ex¬ 
amples will afford new liglu to what might be otherwise obscure; with regard to 
operations founded on higher principles he will, for the present, content himself 
with merely practical rules, exemplified in the same manner. 

With a mind thus gradually led on to strict mathematical discussion, he may 
then .resume his course with profit, and by the aid of a treatise now in preparation, 
which is intended as a sequel to the present, complete his study of Algebra. 

'^7*0 3F8LK13 IN 3Ft 23 JS . 

The People’s Edition of Lingard’s England. 

Will be ready early in December, in a beautiful 8vo volume of nearly 700 pages, 
with a fine Portrait and Memoir of the distinguished Author. Price, in embossed 
cloth,$2; Library style,$2 50. 

The Primacy of the Apostolic See Vindicated. Fourth 

Revised Edition. By the Most Rev. Francis Patrick Kenrick, 
D. D., Archbishop of Baltimore. 

The Genius of Christianity f Or the Spirit and Beauties 

of the Christian Religion. By M. De Chateaubriand. A new 
and beautiful translation, with a Memoir of the Author. 

This work will be issued in an elegant andattractive style, at an early day. 

A New Historical Tale, by the Author of “ Bertha , or the Pope and the Emperor.” 

Florine , a Tale of the First Crusaders. 

This highly interesting Tale will be issued in a neat and attractive form, at an 
early day, from advance sheets furnished by the distinguished author. 

4 










GERMAN PRAYER BOOKS, &c., published bxj Murphy & Co. 

The following German Prayers are published with the Approbation of the Most 
Rev. Archbishop of Baltimore. They have been compiled with the greatest care by 
gentlemen of experience, under the immediate superintendence of the ltev. Superiors 
of the Society of the Holy Redeemer, in Baltimore, with a view to their adaptation 
to the wants of the German Catholics of this country. 

Der gute Same, ein katholisches Gebetbuch. Herausgegeben von 
der Versammlung des allerheiligsten Erlosers. MitGutheissung der Obern. Mit 
3ti feinen Kupfern und llolzschnitten verziert.. .32ino. Leder-Einband. sheep 25 

Dasselbe in Corduan. .. roan 38 .Saffian, unit. turk. 75 

... .mit Goldschnitt, roan, gilt edges 50 turk. Saff. mit Gold., turk. sup. ex. 1 25 

Gelobt sci Jesus Christus. Ein Gebetbuch fur fromme Christen. 
Enthaltend kurze Belehrungen liber das Gebet, die heilige Messe, Beichte und 
Communion, und die anmuthigsten Gebete fur diese heiligen Handlungen, 
nebst einer Vesper-Andacht, mit beigefiigtem lateinischen Texte, den Buss- 
Psalmen, Litaneien, &c. Herausgegeben von der Versammlung des aller¬ 
heiligsten Erlosers. Mit Gutheissungder Obern. Leder-Einband.sheep 38 

Feinem Papier, in Corduan, roan.. 50 .Saffian, imit. turkey 1 00 

Goldschnitt und Flatten, rn. gt. ed. 75 fein. tiirk. Saff. Gold., turk. sup. ex. 150 

The Gloics of May, in Geman, a new and beautiful edition. 

Die Herrlichkeiten Marias. Yon dem heiligen Alphons M. Yon 
Liguori, Bischof von St. Agatha und Stifter der Versammlung des Aller¬ 
heiligsten Erlosers.—Aus dem Italienischen iibersctzt. Herausgegeben von 
der Versammlung des Allerheiligsten Erlosers. Erste Americanische Aus- 
gabe. Mit Approbation Geistliclier Obrigkeit. The Glories of Mary, in Ger¬ 
man, translated from the Italian of St. Alphonsus M. Liguori.—A new Edi¬ 
tion; with Devotions for Mass, Confession and Holy Communion. 18rno. roan 1 00 
.. Arabesq., Goldschnitt, &c., 1 50 .. imit. gt, edges 2 00 

It is deemed superfluous to add any of the numerous testimonials in favor of this 
book. The name of Saint Liguori is sufficient to recommend it to every pious 
Catholic. This edition is comprised in an 18mo. volume of nearly 800 pages, printed 
and bound in a style of unsurpassed elegance and neatness. It has been carefully 
revised by one of the Redemptorist Fathers, and can be recommended with confi¬ 
dence, as one of the cheapest and best books ever offered to the German Catholics. 

Besuchungen des Allerheiligsten Allars-Sakramentes, &{c. (Visits to 
the most Holy Sacrament, and a complete Prayer Book combined,) und Be- 
grUssungen der allzeit unblefleckten Jungfrau Maria; fur jeden Tag des Monats. 

Von dem heiligen Alphons Maria von Liguori, Stifter der Versammlung des 
Allerheiligsten Erlosers. Nebst einem Gebetbuche. Neu herausgegeben von 
einem Priester derselben Versammlung mit Genehmigung des Hochvviirdig- 

sten Erzbischofes von Baltimore.18mo. Leder-Einband, sheep 63 

Corduan..roan 1 00 Saffian.turkey morocco 1 50 

...mit Goldschnitt, roan, gt. edges 1 25 feinem tiirk. Saff., turk. sup. extra 2 00 

To this edition of the Visits to the Most Holy Sacraments, by St. Liguori, all the 
Prayers and Devotions used on ordinary occasions, have been added, which renders it 
a most useful and complete Prayer Book for the use of devout persons. It is well 
printed on good paper, and sold at a very low price. 

GERMAN SCHOOL BOOKS. 

Biblische Geschichte des Alten und Neuen Testamentes, [The History of 
the Old & New Testaments, for the use of Catli. Schools,] zum Gebrauche der 
katholischen Schulen.—Herausgegeben mit Genehmigung und Erlaubniss des 
Hochwiirdigsten Erzbischofs von Baltimore :-12mo. Ilalb-Franzbper doz. 2 00 

Katholischer Katechismus. [Catholic Catechism.] Verfasst von Johann 
Nep. Neumann, Bischof von Philadelphia. Zehnte Auflage. Mit Genehmigung 
des National Conciliums von Balt .IBmo. Halb-Franzb, per doz.l 50 

Kleiner Catechismus. [Small Catechism.] Verfasst von Johann Nep. 
Neumann, Bischof von Philadelphia. Zebnte Auflage. Mit Genehmigung des 
National Conciliums von Baltimore.32mo. Per hundred, 1 00 

A, B, C, und Buchstabir und Lesebuch. [Primer and Spelling Book, 
for the use of Catholic Schools.) Nach der Buchstabir und Lautir-Methode 
eingerichtet. Zum Gebrauche in den kathol. Schulen... Halb-Fr’zb. per doz. 1 00 

Jllle deutschen Biichervon Murphy Sf Co.sind mit Gutheissung der Obern herausgegeben. 

5 













HANICQ’S CELEBRATED LITURGICAL PUBLICATIONS. 

Missalc Romanum , printed in Red and Black—all sizes from folio to 12mo.; various 
bixidiii"s.— Canon Missalce Pontificalis. Folio. 16 fine Engravings.— Missce Defunc- 
torum, folio and 8vo.— Missoe. Pontificates, folio. 13 fine Engravings.— Breviarium 
Romanum, printed in Red and Black, all sizes, from 4to. to 32mo., various bind¬ 
ings.— Breviarium (Totum ) Romanum. 18mo.— Rituale Romanum. 18mo. &, 8vo.— 
Martyrologium Romanum. 4io.— Pontificate Romanum. 3 vols 8vo., 158 fine Engra¬ 
vings.— Graduate Romanum, Juxta Riturn Sacrosanctre Romse Ecclesiae. 8vo.— Ves- 
perale Romanum, cum Psalterio ex antiphonali Romano fideliter extractum. 8vo.— 
Ojficia Beatce Maria Virginis in Latin and English. 18mo.— OJficium Hebdomadce 
Sai.cta, with notes. 32mo— Homo Apostolicus, Ligorio. 3 vols.— Impediments (de) 
Matrimonio. 8vo.— Memoriale Vita Sacerdotalis. 18mo.— Ccdeste Palmetum, &c. 

The missals and other liturgical publications of Mr. Ilanicq, of Mechlin, have 
already acquired a world-wide reputation for accuracy, convenience and other quali¬ 
ties so desirable in works of this description. The Roman Missals, from his press, 
are in three different forms, folio, quarto, and duodecimo, and consequently adapted 
to altars of any dimensions, the last is particularly convenient for private reference. 
These missals may also be obtained in black letter, or in black and red. As to the 
accuracy of the editions, it will be sufficient to state, that they were prepared by 
learned rubricists, and have received the approbation of his Eminence the Cardinal 
Archbishop of Mechlin. The letter-press is in fine large characiers, and ornamented 
with ten excellent engravings from the pencil of artists of the very highest merit. But 
the chief point of superiority is the convenient arrangement of the collects, gospels, 
&c., which cannot fail to win the approval of the Rev. Clergy. We will notice 
briefly the principal features in which this arrangement differs from that of other 
editions. 

1. —The Proper of the Saints is perfectly complete up to the time of publication. 

2. —All the Masses of double or semi-double feasts, which have peculiar to them 
the least thing more than the collect alone, are printed in full in the Proper of the 
Saints on the days on which they occur. When the secret and the post-communion 
are proper, it is very disagreeable for the priest to be obliged to turn over the leaves 
of his Missal three or four times in order to look in the Proper for the few lines of 
those two prayers separated by the communion which is common. All the Saints, of 
whom a commemoration is made on double or semi-double feasts, have likewise 
their three prayers printed in full. In fine, the prayers which are to be said during 
the octaves are found always in their proper places, or near them, so that it is never 
necessary to recur to the Common of the Saints or other parts. 

3. —In all the other editions of the Missal published up to the present time there 
exists a very serious inconvenience for the celebrant, viz : the necessity of turning 
the page in the middle of an introit, gospel, or even of a collect, or post-communion, 
during the Masses which are sung. This inconvenience is more especially felt at the 
introits and gospels, when after having turned the leaf for the purpose of reading the 
end, it is necessary to turn it a second time on account of the beginning, and a third 
time, in order to go on with that which follows. The same may be said of certain 
parts of the canon. Mr. Ilanicq is so far the only one who has completely avoided 
this inconvenience in his fine editions. 

4. —The Proper of the Saints presents, in their respective places, the three prayers 
of every simple feast which has the least thing proper to it; but it was thought, per¬ 
fectly useless io crowd the Proper of the Saints with Masses of simple feasts, entirely 
belonging to the common. 

5. —The proper prayers for the weeks of Advent are repeated in the Proper of the 
Saints at the beginning of December; so that the priest is not obliged, during those 
four weeks, to look every day for those prayers at the beginning of the Missal, with 
the risk of overturning it when moving it with the aid of the marks. The prayers 
peculiar to other times of the year are so located as to afford the greatest conveni¬ 
ence to the celebrant. 

6. —At the end of the Missal is found a very extensive supplement which includes 
a great number of Masses for different countries, diocesses and religious congrega¬ 
tions. Amongst those Masses are particularly remarked those of the Society of 
Jesus, the Lazarists, &c., and that of the Immaculate Conception. Finally the two 
new Masses of St. Francis Hieionymo and the Blessed Peter Claver granted to the 
Society of Jesus have recently been added. 

Improvements of the same kind have been introduced in the Mechlin editions of 
the Breviaries of every size, and in Diurnals in 8vo in 3-2mo. and in 48ino. all printed 
in red and black, and the greater part on very strong hand-made paper. 

{hj=-We have the pleasure to announce that we have been appointed Agents for the 
sale of Mr. Hanicq’s publications in the United States, and will keep a large supply 
constantly on hand, which we are prepared to supply in various bindings. Wholesale 
and Retail, at very low prices. MURPHY &. CO. 178 Market st. Baltimore. 

H 256 82 ' 

















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